Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Rocky road ahead for NCP's Yeola candidate Chhagan Bhujbal

Nashik: Veteran OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal is perhaps facing the biggest political challenge of his life in his home-district of Nashik.

A five-time MLA and one-term MLC, Bhujbal (77) is now part of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar took it personally when Bhujbal walked away with his rebel nephew and joined the BJP-led Mahayuti camp - as the former has always helped the current Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister of Maharashtra.

Bhujbal, who is contesting from Yeola (also spelled Yevla) from Nashik district, now faces Manikrao Shinde, a Maratha pitted by Sharad Pawar. Shinde is the son of former MLA Madhukarrao Shinde.

Incidentally, Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader and founder-president of Akhil Bharatiya Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, is facing strong opposition from the Marathas and Manoj Jarange-Patil has appealed to the community in Nashik district to ensure his defeat.

In fact, after the NCP split in June-July 2023, Sharad Pawar had addressed the first public meeting in Yeola, during which he had said, “I erred in trusting some people, but won’t repeat the mistake… I miscalculated… and I apologise for it… you trusted me and voted for my party but my decision turned out to be wrong and hence I owe the apology.”

In one of the rallies earlier this week, Sharad Pawar lashed out at Bhujbal saying, “He has no faith in ideology; he betrayed the party, leadership and the people too. He defamed Yeola, which supported him for years. So now, it’s time to teach him a lesson. I will give you full support, and we will win, win, win.”

However, Bhujbal has shot back, saying, “What is Sharad Pawar’s ideology? All political parties have ideologies, whether it is Congress, BJP, the Left parties, or the Shiv Sena founded by Balasaheb Thackeray. What is the ideology of NCP founded by Sharad Pawar? The party was formed by a bunch of political chieftains from different areas, such as Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, Padmasinh Patil, Jayant Patil, Madhukar Pichad, Chhagan Bhujbal.”

A few days ago, Bhujbal landed in a controversy - when excerpts of a book suggested that he had joined the NDA because of the threat of ED; however, he later denied it saying, “As far as I am concerned, I have been given a clean chit by the court and hence there is no threat of ED action against me,” he said, denying reports that he switched over from the opposition to treasury benches fearing ED action. “Our joining (the BJP-led Mahayuti) was for development (of the state and respective constituencies).”

Yeola forms part of the onion belt of Maharashtra - where farmers are agitated since the last few years and in the Lok Sabha polls - it has brought tears to ruling Maha Yuti politicians and candidates.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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