NCP miffed with Chhagan Bhujbal, won’t include him in cabinet

Mumbai: The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to keep its senior leader and former minister Chhagan Bhujbal out of the state cabinet despite him sulking publicly after being denied a ministerial berth in the Mahayuti 2.0 government. The party leadership is upset with Bhujbal for several reasons, including being pressured to nominate his son Pankaj to the legislative council last October, the rebellion by his nephew Sameer during the assembly polls in November, and his statements after he was left out of the cabinet last month, said party insiders.

In October 2024, governor CP Radhakrishnan nominated seven members to the legislative council from his quota, including Pankaj Bhujbal from the NCP. NCP president and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s pick for the position was Anand Paranjpe or Siddharth Kamble, but Pankaj, a two-time MLA, was chosen after Bhujbal raised the flag of family dispute and claimed then that his son would not be able to contest the assembly poll from Nandgaon as the constituency had been allocated to Shiv Sena as part of the seat-sharing deal, said party insiders.

Bhujbal raised the flag of family dispute again ahead of the assembly polls to justify his nephew Sameer Bhujbal contesting from Nandgaon as an independent after being denied a ticket by NCP. “After Pankaj became an MLC, Bhujbal changed his tune saying Sameer was not listening and he would contest from Nandgaon as an independent. It left the NCP leadership baffled as to why he pressed for the MLC position for his son if he wanted to field his nephew from Nandgaon,” a senior NCP leader told Hindustan Times, requesting anonymity.

Since Sameer contested against Shiv Sena’s Suhas Kande, the incumbent MLA and official Mahayuti candidate, the Shiv Sena fielded independents against NCP nominees in four seats in Nashik district (Dindori, Deolali, Yeola and Niphad), hurting the party’s poll prospects.

Bhujbal’s statements against the party leadership on being left out of the state cabinet and his claim that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was keen to induct him but backtracked due to opposition from Ajit Pawar further angered the party leadership. On December 23, he even met Fadnavis with his nephew and claimed he had a detailed discussion with the chief minister regarding important social and political issues.

When asked if Bhujbal was miffed and might join the BJP, the NCP president told reporters, “It’s our party’s internal issue and we will resolve it internally.”

“By saying that it was an internal issue of the NCP, Ajit dada not only showed Bhujbal that he was the boss but also indicated to Fadnavis that he should keep himself out of the issue,” said an NCP MLA.

Bhujbal, among the senior-most leaders in the undivided NCP, shifted his loyalty to Ajit Pawar during the split in the party in 2023 despite considering Sharad Pawar as his political mentor. He was the food and civil supplies minister in the previous Mahayuti government, while his son was an MLC and his nephew was NCP’s Mumbai president. This had led to a buzz in the party about everything going to the Bhujbals and others being left out. The decision to keep Bhujbal out of the cabinet now is aimed partly at addressing these concerns, said party insiders.