Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday met Sharad Pawar, sparking a buzz over his next possible move ahead of the crucial assembly elections in Maharashtra. Bhujbal, currently the minister in the Shinde government, was among the 40 MLAs who switched sides in July last year. He wanted to contest Lok Sabha elections from Nashik, but the seat went to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
Just weeks after the Lok Sabha results, in which NCP emerged as the worst performer, Ajit Pawar sent his wife Sunetra Pawar to the Rajya Sabha. Sunetra had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Baramati but lost to Supriya Sule. Bhujbal, senior party leader in the Ajit camp, was eying the seat in the Upper House.
In June, reports emerged saying Bhujbal was poised to leave NCP. Party insiders told The Hindustan Times that Bhujbal was weighing several options, one of them being forming his own party, although the most probable could be joining Shiv Sena (UBT). Bhujbal had quit the undivided Shiv Sena three decades ago.
According to the report, those close to the OBC leader said while he was unhappy over being denied the Lok Sabha ticket, he was stung by Sunetra being chosen for the Rajya Sabha seat over him.
Bhujbal's meeting with Pawar comes just a day after he launched a veiled attack on the NCP (SP) chief, claiming the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted an all-party meeting on the Maratha quota issue on July 9 after a “phone call from Baramati at 5 PM”.
"When social issues come up, it is expected that a senior leader like Sharad Pawar should have come for the meeting and given his inputs. Deliberately boycotting and then giving advice is not right,” Bhujbal said while speaking at a rally in Baramati.
MVA leaders didn’t turn up at the all-party meeting convened by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on July 9, claiming the opposition was not taken into confidence on the Maratha quota issue. “Opposition leaders stayed away from the meeting after a phone call from Baramati at 5 pm,” Bhujbal claimed.
Bhujbal said he had asked the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad to attend the meeting. "I asked Awhad to get Sharad Pawar too for the meeting. Pawar saheb implemented the reservations given by (former prime minister late) V P Singh, and we are always grateful to him for that,” the NCP leader said.
Bhujbal questioned the opposition for allegedly ignoring the interests of the people from Maratha, Dhangar, and OBC communities from Baramati. “People from Maratha, Mali, and Dhangar OBC communities in Baramati may have voted for Sunetra Pawar or Supriya Sule (in Lok Sabha elections). You can be angry with us, but why leave these communities in the lurch? Isn’t your duty to protect their interests?” he asked.
(With inputs from PTI)