Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Chhagan Bhujbal of the Ajit Pawar faction has denied reports that he is joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Bhujbal has also imposed faith on Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying that it is up to him to keep him in the cabinet or not.

Chhagan Bhujbal currently serves as the Minister of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection in the Maharashtra government.

Anti-corruption activist and politician Anjali Damania claimed on Friday while speaking to a Mumbai daily that a senior BJP leader was urging Chhagan Bhujbal to join the party. This would ensure Other Backward Class (OBC) votes for the BJP in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, as Bhujbal has a stronghold as an OBC leader.

Apparently, after the CM got Manoj Jarange Patil to campaign for the Maratha agitation, now the BJP seeks an experienced OBC leader in Bhujbal to woo that vote bank.

Not joining BJP: Bhujbal

However, Chhagan Bhujbal has denied the reports of his crossover to the BJP. He also said that Eknath Shinde will not remove him from his post.

“It is up to (Eknath) Shinde to take a call on whether he wants me to continue in the cabinet or not. I am of the view that Shinde would not sack me since I have also worked with the late Shiv Sena politician Anand Dighe, who is the political mentor of the CM,” remarked Bhujbal.

Bhujbal’s OBC rally at Ahmednagar

Chhagan Bhujbal will hold a big rally of OBCs at Ahmednagar on Saturday to protest against the ‘kunbi’ caste certificates to Marathas. The leader is of the opinion that the OBCs stand to lose if the Marathas are included in the OBC category.