'Devendra Fadnavis insisted...': Chhagan Bhujbal attacks Ajit Pawar after Maharashtra cabinet exclusion

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal hit out at Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar after being excluded from the Maharashtra state cabinet.

Bhujbal said that while he did not feel disappointed about not being inducted in the council of ministers, he alleged he felt humiliated by Ajit Pawar's treatment.  He added that CM Devendra Fadnavis wanted to induct him in the cabinet.

Fadnavis on Saturday expanded his cabinet in Nagpur and inducted 39 new ministers -- 19 from BJP, 11 from Shiv Sena, and 9 from NCP. Bhujbal was among the 10 ministers who were dropped from the cabinet, which has 16 new faces. 

"It is true that injustice was done to me because I told my point to some people. Ajit dada, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare only discuss among themselves. Fadnavis and (Chandrashekhar) Bawankule himself was insistent on my name being included in the cabinet," the former state minister told India Today in an exclusive interview. 

When asked who was responsible for his exclusion, he did not name any individual but said that he will have to find that out. He, however, insisted that he had it confirmed that Fadnavis insisted on his inclusion in the state cabinet. 

"The question is not about the ministerial berth but the way I was insulted. I will tell you more about it after holding discussions with my workers and people from the constituency tomorrow," Bhujbal said.

He added that he hadn't spoken to Pawar after being denied the cabinet berth. Bhujbal also claimed that he was asked to contest the Lok Sabha polls in May this year but his name was never finalised.

He added he was offered a Rajya Sabha seat recently after winning from Yeola, which he rejected. "They didn't listen to me then, now they are giving it. Am I a toy in your hands?"

Previously, Bhujbal said that the denial of a ministerial berth was a "gift" for opposing Maratha quota activist Manoj-Jarange Patil's demand for including the Maratha community in the OBC category. 

When asked about his future course of action, the veteran politician said: "Let's see. Jahan nahi chaina, wahan nahi rehna."

OBC community members protested against Ajit Pawar outside the Collector's office for not giving a ministerial berth to Bhujbal. Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar gave the first two days of the Maharashtra assembly session a miss amid delays in portfolio allocations.

He did not attend any meetings on Tuesday. His move came at a time when senior NCP and Shiv Sena leaders are upset over being denied ministerial berths during the cabinet expansion. 

(With inputs from Abhijit Karande)