With Bhujbal back, what now for Munde?

The veteran OBC leader was sworn in as cabinet minister

- Faisal Malik

MUMBAI: Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal was on Tuesday sworn in as a minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government, underscoring the 77-year-old's enduring relevance in the state's politics just months after being all but written off when he was excluded from the cabinet in December.

"All is well that ends well," said Bhujbal at Mantralaya, after his swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan, which was attended by Fadnavis, his two deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and other ministers.

"I have been sworn in as a minister several times since 1991 and also handled several portfolios. I am ready to take any responsibility given to me by the chief minister and deputy chief ministers," he added.

Bhujbal will fill the cabinet berth lying vacant following the resignation of his NCP colleague Dhananjay Munde in March following the arrest of his close aide, Walmik Karad, in connection with the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

Bhujbal is also likely to get Munde's food and civil supplies portfolio, which the MLA from Yevla has held previously under governments led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.

The timing of the decision to induct Bhujbal, a prominent Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader, in the Maharashtra cabinet is significant considering it's happening just weeks after the central government decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming national census. It also comes days after the Supreme Court cleared the path for elections to 687 urban and rural local bodies in Maharashtra later this year.