Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Sameer Bhujbal stages rebellion, quits NCP to contest as independent candidate from Nandgaon

Mumbai: In a significant development in Nashik politics and the family of Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal - the veteran OBC leader’s nephew Sameer Bhujbal has resigned from the NCP and is set to contest the Nandgaon seat as an Independent candidate.

“I have resigned from the NCP because I do not want to become a roadblock in the alliance-dharma,” Sameer said, adding that he has quit as NCP Mumbai President, and sent the resignation papers to Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President Ajit Pawar, NCP Working President Praful Patel and NCP Maharashtra President Sunil Tatkare.

Resignation letter of Sameer Bhujbal.

The development comes days after Chhagan Bhujbal’s son Pankaj Bhujbal was sent to the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

Pankaj had won the Assembly polls from Nandgaon in 2009 and 2014 from the undivided NCP.

Sameer secured victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls representing the undivided NCP.

During the Lok Sabha polls, the Bhujbal uncle-nephew duo were keen for the Nashik seat; however, at the last minute, the seat went to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s Hemant Godse, who was a two-term sitting MP.

While the NCP renominated Bhujbal senior from Yeola, the party leadership gave the seat to Shiv Sena, whose sitting MLA Suhas Kande is expected to contest from there.

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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