Chhagan Bhujbal Rejected Rajya Sabha Seat Offer a Week Before Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion

Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, expressing disappointment over his exclusion from the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, claimed  that he was offered a Rajya Sabha seat eight days ago, but he rejected the offer.

Bhujbal, the legislator from Yeola in Nashik district, stated that he rejected the Rajya Sabha seat offer because accepting it would feel like a betrayal to his assembly constituency, which he had won in the state elections last month.

"When I wanted to be in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, I was told that I should fight the assembly elections. I was offered the Rajya Sabha berth eight days ago which I rejected. I said I could consider the Rajya Sabha option after one or two years but not immediately," the former state minister added.

Bhujbal mentioned that he had not communicated with NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar after being denied a state cabinet position. A prominent OBC leader, Bhujbal suggested that his exclusion from the cabinet was a result of his opposition to activist Manoj Jarange, who has been advocating for reservation for the Maratha community in jobs and education.

"I stood up for the Other Backward Classes community when the Maratha quota activist was demanding its inclusion in the OBC category. The Ladki Bahin scheme and OBCs helped the Mahayuti win the elections," he said.

A total of 39 legislators from the Mahayuti allies — BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP — were sworn in on Sunday during the first cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government. Ten former ministers were dropped, while 16 new faces were introduced to the cabinet.