Mumbai, May 20 — Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expanded his five-month-old cabinet on Tuesday, bringing senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal into the fold.
The 77-year-old veteran leader was sworn in at Raj Bhavan by Governor C P Radhakrishnan. This development comes months after Bhujbal was left out of the initial cabinet expansion in December, a move that had sparked public discontent from the seasoned politician known for his strong support base among Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities.
Bhujbal’s induction into the cabinet fills the vacancy created by the resignation of fellow NCP leader Dhananjay Munde. Munde, who previously held the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection portfolio, stepped down in March following the arrest of his close aide, Walmik Karad, in connection with the murder case of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
A stalwart in Maharashtra politics, Bhujbal’s return to the cabinet is seen as a strategic move ahead of the upcoming elections, aiming to consolidate OBC support and stabilize internal dynamics within the NCP faction aligned with the ruling coalition.
