Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Saturday, denied news reports speculating over him joining his former party Shiv Sena.
A Marathi newspaper on Saturday had published a report claiming that since there were less chances of him getting the chair of chief minister or deputy chief minister, Bhujbal would be considering to return to his former party Shiv Sena. The regional newspaper had also claimed that “the spiritual guru Bhaiyuji Maharaj is intervening for Bhujbal and has put forth his words before Uddhav Thackaray."
Known as a fierce loyalist of the then Shiv Sena party chief Bal Thackeray, Bhujbal had started his political career in 1973 as a Shiv Sena corporator, but quit the saffron outfit in 1991 and joined the Indian National Congress (NCP). After Indian National Congress leader Sharad Pawar decided to split from the Congress and form his own party, the Nationalist Congress Party, Bhujbal went along with him, about 23 years ago. After joining NCP, Bhujbal was elevated to the post of deputy chief minister and various other ministries.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Bhujbal had contested from the Nashik battleground for the first time. To counter him, Sena fielded Hemant Godse, an engineer and builder by profession who is a prominent face in the zilla parishad. Bhujbal lost to Godse by a margin of 1,87,336 votes.
Though there has been no word whether Bhujbal will be taken in the Shiv Sena or not, some senior leaders believe that Bhujbal would be beneficial for the part.
A fortnight ago, after former NCP legislator Manda Mhatre joined BJP with her supporters, state BJP unit president, Devendra Fadnavis had said, “Many ministers and legislators in the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra are eager to join the party. Many ministers and legislators of the Congress-NCP have contacted us on the phone. But our doors are open only for those who are acceptable to the people."
When contacted, NCP spokesperson and senior leader Nawab Malik said, “Bhujbal has denied the speculative reports and when he himself has said that he is not joining any other party, it should be believed."
Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has also made it clear that Bhujbal is going to stay in the party, saying that reports of him joining the Shiv Sena are false.
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