BJP Brings Back Chhagan Bhujbal To Cabinet In Surprise Move To Fix OBC Caste Equation Ahead Of Civic Polls

The sudden announcement of including NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in the Maharashtra cabinet and his swearing-in ceremony happening just at a day's notice at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai has set the gossip mill rolling in the entire state of Maharashtra.

Why did the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance do this in such a hurry? Why has the BJP decided to include this 77-year-old leader now in their government, just five months after they had excluded him from the December 2024 cabinet swearing-in? Many such questions are being asked. But the biggest question is, what political impact will Bhujbal's inclusion in the Maharashtra government have?

Chhagan Bhujbal is one of the biggest faces in Maharashtra of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). His politics, since the year 1991, have revolved around the fact that he represents the community and has been a prominent face from north Maharashtra's Nashik district.

In 1991, Bhujbal quit Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena and joined the Congress, which was under Sharad Pawar's leadership in Maharashtra. Pawar included Bhujbal in his cabinet as the minister of housing, and ever since, Bhujbal has gone through many ups and downs in his political career.

During the BJP government's rule between 2014 and 2019, Bhujbal faced corruption charges and spent time in prison. He was granted bail by the courts in due course. In 2023, when NCP leader Ajit Pawar decided to walk out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Chhagan Bhujbal joined him to become part of the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra.

The NCP, which was prominently a party that had mostly Maratha leadership, found Bhujbal a valuable face to exhibit to the voters that they, too, had a senior OBC face at the helm. However, the party had other OBC faces also, such as Dhananjay Munde, who gradually got close to Ajit Pawar and got ahead of Bhujbal during the 2024 assembly polls.

Bhujbal was shocked to see that his name was not included in the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP cabinet, which was sworn in on December 5, 2024. The buzz inside the NCP was that Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was very uncomfortable with Bhujbal's seniority and wanted to cut him down to size while promoting another OBC face, his trusted colleague Dhananjay Munde.

However, as Munde's close associates were allegedly found to be involved in some criminal cases, he had to resign from the cabinet under mounting pressure. Since then, the BJP-led Mahayuti has felt the pressure of not having proper representation of the OBC community in the government, despite having leaders like Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

The absence of Dhananjay Munde became a political issue among the OBC organisations, who kept showing resentment towards the Mahayuti over the way Munde was asked to leave.

Many insiders say the BJP is very concerned about getting the caste equation right in the present state government, as they have to face important civic elections in Mumbai, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Thane and about 10 more municipal corporations, as well as elections to the district councils (Zilla Parishads) in Maharashtra just after the monsoon.

It is very clear that the BJP-led Mahayuti has decided to take Bhujbal into the cabinet purely to pacify the OBC organisations and seek their support in the upcoming civic polls. The question, however, is whether the Mahayuti will be able to get support from the OBCs based in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which has been Munde's area of influence.

Bhujbal won his first assembly election and became an MLA from Mumbai's Mazgaon area in the early 1990s. However, his stronghold is the Nashik district, and he has repeatedly won from Yeola assembly constituency there. The NCP always kept Bhujbal limited to the north Maharashtra region and depended on Dhananjay Munde for the Marathwada region.

Now the question is whether the NCP and Mahayuti will be able to fill the void in Marathwada with Bhujbal's leadership and pitch to the OBCs a new face. It is clear and obvious that his inclusion has happened only with an eye on achieving the caste equation in the upcoming polls.

Another point that many insiders of the NCP are raising is how NCP chief Ajit Pawar was almost forced to accept Chhagan Bhujbal's inclusion in the cabinet this week. A meeting of Mahayuti leaders reportedly happened six days ago in Mumbai, where the leadership of the NCP was told to accept the BJP's decision of including Bhujbal in the cabinet.

Insiders say had Ajit Pawar had his way, he would have given some other name for inclusion in the cabinet. It is a clear indication to all the Mahayuti partners and others that the BJP controls the Mahayuti government and will be steering the alliance in the upcoming civic polls. The alliance partners may not have much say in the decision-making in the coming weeks and months.

Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune.