Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday took a veiled swipe at party president Ajit Pawar for excluding him from the new cabinet and alleged that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis supported his inclusion. He also said that Ajit Pawar took the final call for the NCP, just like Fadnavis did for the BJP and Eknath Shinde for the Shiv Sena.
Bhujbal also noted that he was not disappointed at not being made a minister but felt humiliated by the treatment.
The senior leader claimed that he was asked to contest the Lok Sabha elections in May, but his name was never finalized. And after winning the Assembly elections from the Yeola seat, he was offered a Rajya Sabha seat.
'Am I a toy in your hands?'
“Earlier this year, when I wanted to be in the Rajya Sabha, I was asked to contest the Assembly elections. Eight days ago, I was offered a Rajya Sabha seat, which I turned down. They didn't listen to me then, now they are giving it (Rajya Sabha seat). Am I a toy in your hands?” he asked. He also noted that he made his moves dependent on the whims of the party.
“I have confirmed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has insisted on my inclusion in the state cabinet. The leader of each party in the Mahayuti alliance decides on behalf of his party. Fadnavis for BJP, Eknath Shinde for Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar for NCP,” he said. said.
Fadnavis on Sunday expanded his cabinet in Nagpur and inducted 39 new members into his team – 19 from the BJP, 11 from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 from Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Bhujbal was among the 10 ministers who were dropped from the new council of ministers, which has 16 new faces.
The former Food and Civil Supplies Secretary had expressed disappointment and skipped the winter session of the state legislature. He returned to his constituency Yeola in Nashik district.