After Bhujbal’s axing, what’s next for the 77-year old OBC leader?

MUMBAI: He was among the first two undivided NCP leaders who were sworn in as cabinet ministers in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government in November 2019. Five years down the line, veteran politician and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal has failed to get a position for himself in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti 2.0 government.

An angry Bhujbal publicly expressed his displeasure on Monday, a day after the Ajit Pawar-led NCP left him bereft of a ministry. He then left the ongoing winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur and returned to his hometown, Nashik. So what’s next for Bhujbal, the first leader to take on Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil during the Maratha-OBC reservation clash?

The politician is expected to meet his supporters in Nashik on Tuesday and is in the process of calling a meeting of the Samata Parishad, an outfit that works for the cause of the OBC community, to decide on his next step. Bhujbal believes that the NCP leadership has insulted him, and he needs to raise his voice against the “injustice”. His supporters have held protests at several places in the state, including Nashik city, Niphad and Jalna.

“Yes, I am unhappy. What to do? I am a common worker and going to Nashik,” Bhujbal stated before leaving for Nashik on Monday afternoon. “I did not feel like talking to Ajit Pawar,” he replied when asked if there was any communication between him and the NCP chief.

The party leadership did try to pacify him with a Rajya Sabha position but he refused to accept it. “Seven to eight days ago, I was asked to go to Rajya Sabha,” he said. “But when I had sought to go to Rajya Sabha the seat was given to a leader from Satara (Rajya Sabha polls held in August) and I was told that I should contest the assembly polls to consolidate the OBC vote. Accepting the Rajya Sabha offer now and resigning as an MLA would be a betrayal of those who voted for me.”

Bhujbal was the first ruling politician to oppose Jarange-Patil and his demand for reservation from the OBC quota. He also tried to consolidate the OBCs by holding public rallies and meetings against the Marathas in the last one year, a move which definitely benefited the ruling parties.

“The issue is not of a ministerial berth. I am sad because of the way I am being insulted. “Jahan nahin chaina, wahan nahi rehna” (No point in staying where there is no peace),” he added, citing a vintage film song to indicate his disinterest in continuing in the NCP. He also brought up the fact that he wanted to contest the Lok Sabha polls but was not given a ticket.

People close to Bhujbal said that he was yet to make up his mind on what to do next. “He does not have too many options, given the position the opposition is in at the moment,” said a close aide. “It is necessary to raise your voice when you feel insulted, and this is what he is doing at the moment. He may reach a decision after meeting his people.”

Since Bhujbal played an important role in the consolidation of OBC votes for the Mahayuti government, the NCP leadership would try to convince him, opined political analyst Abhay Deshpande. “Even the BJP will not want to discard him since he has nuisance value,” he pointed out. “Eventually he may accept the Rajya Sabha offer.”

The 77-year-old politician has been in the saddle of state affairs for four decades. When Sharad Pawar floated the NCP in 1999, he picked Bhujbal to be the state president of the new party that was full of Marathas. Bhujbal was also made deputy chief minister after the party formed a government with the Congress the same year. However, he had to quit the position in 2003 after his name was embroiled in the Abdul Karim Telgi fake stamp paper scam.

The politician managed to make a comeback when the Congress-NCP combination returned to power in 2004. He was first a minister and then elevated to deputy chief minister in 2008 when the incumbent in the post, R R Patil, had to resign following the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. Bhujbal stayed in the same post when the Congress-NCP returned to power in 2009 but lost it within a year to Ajit Pawar. He remained public works minister between 2010 and 2014, and it was during this time that the Maharashtra Sadan controversy and allegations of money-laundering got him into big trouble.

During the split in the NCP last year, Bhujbal not only shifted his loyalty to Ajit Pawar but also slammed NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar for his flip-flops on joining hands with the BJP.

This year, Bhujbal won the assembly election for the fifth time from Yeola constituency in Nashik district. Before that, he was a two-term MLA from Mazgaon from 1986 to 1996.