Chhagan Bhujbal has refuted the rumours of his joining Shiv Sena. While speaking to Afternoon Voice he said, “I am taking rest as my health is not good, but wondering from where journalists are making me join Shiv Sena, I have no such intention at this moment.” He further stated that I have no control on rumour mongers.
Former veteran of Shiv Sena, once upon a time was a blue eyed boy of Balasaheb Thackeray. Due to some internal party issues, he left Sena and joined Pawar. Now the talks of Bhujbal doing a ‘ghar wapsi’ have been doing rounds for a while now. Afternoon Voice reached Bhujbal and made sure there is no truth in this news. He is in Sharad Pawar’s NCP, as its tallest leader and former Deputy Chief Minister.
Chhagan Bhujbal said, “I am not well. That is why I am taking rest at home. I don’t know from where these rumours are coming. I have no intention to join Shiv Sena. Right now, I need rest for my health. I don’t know why this news is spread about me. We need to find it out.”
Bhujbal who started his political career in the Shiv Sena, rose to ranks in the party from a corporator to a mayor and member of legislative assembly. Angered by the elevation of party colleague Manohar Joshi as the leader of opposition, Bhujbal broke away from Shiv Sena and engineered a split in the party to join the Congress.
Bhujbal was made the leader of opposition during the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra. After the formation of the NCP, Bhujbal was made the president of the state unit and when the NCP-Congress alliance came to power, he was made the Deputy CM and Home Minister.
NCP Mumbai President Nawab Malik said, “Everybody has choice of joining wherever he wants. No political party is losing any vote bank or losing any thing if leaders are leaving the party. Gujarat is a good example where so many leaders from the Congress have joined the BJP. But the Congress is still having the same percentage of vote, what they had before. As per my knowledge, Bhujbal has already denied to join the Shiv Sena or planning anything like that.”
Embroiled the Telgi Fake stamp paper scam, Bhujbal had to quit. He made a comeback as Deputy CM after the erstwhile Deputy CM RR Patil resigned post 26/11 attacks. Bhujbal’s name again ran into controversy when he, along with his nephew Sameer, were named in a money-laundering scam. Bhujbal was arrested and was in jail for more than two years.
Majid Memon, NCP MP said, “Information comes from everywhere, it’s a baseless rumour.”
All the while, Bhujbal and his supporters nursed a grudge against NCP leadership for not standing behind him during the time but that has never motivated him to give up on NCP. In last few days, leaders like Sachin Ahir, known as close to Bhujbal, have quit the party and joined Shiv Sena. Bhujbal, who hails from the prominent Mali community, enjoys sizable clout in Mumbai as well as his home town Nashik.
Arvind Bhosale, Shiv Sena MLA said, “When Bhujbal will join Shiv Sena, media will be the first to know about it. Uddhav Thackeray has already said ‘at the right time, you will get the right answer’.”
