Bhujbal meets Sharad Pawar, urges him to take stand on Maratha quota issue

Mumbai: A day after he criticised Sharad Pawar over the Maratha reservation issue, Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday met the NCP founder. Mr. Bhujbal held deliberations for over 90 minutes at Pawar’s ‘Silver Oak’ bungalow in Mumbai. He denied that he is trying to leave the Ajit Pawar faction and said that he approached the NCP founder only to discuss a solution for the situation that has arisen in Maharashtra due Maratha activist Manoj Jarange’s demand for reservation under the OBC category.

“I did not meet Mr. Pawar as a minister or for politics. I approached him to seek his support to calm down the situation that has arisen in Maharashtra due to the Maratha versus Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation issue. The situation is so tense that both the communities are boycotting each other’s establishments. They are neither buying goods from each other, nor attending weddings,” Mr. Bhujbal said after the meeting.

The meeting came a day after the Ajit Pawar faction’s rally in Baramati, where Bhujbal, where Mr. Bhujbal accused Sharad Pawar of trying to add fuel the the fire over the reservation issue. Without naming Sharad Pawr, Mr. Bhujbal had said that the Opposition leaders did not attend the all-party meeting called by chief minister Eknath Shinde because of “a phone call from Baramati”.

“When Pawar was the chief minister, he implemented the Mandal commission recommendations and  had resolved the issues of OBCs in the state. As a senior leader in the state, we expect him to participate in resolving the current situation. He was not feeling well, so I had to wait for him. After we spoke to him, he said he will look into the matter after his health improves. He has agreed to take the initiative and discuss the issue with CM Eknath Shinde and other important leaders in the state,” the minister said.

There was no prior announcement about Mr. Bhujbal’s meeting with the NCP founder. Therefore, when he reached ‘Silver Oak’, there were speculations that the minister was again trying to switch sides and join the Sharad Pawar faction.

However, later it emerged that he had sought Sharad Pawar’s appointment after the discussions with Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare. The four leaders met after the ‘Silver Oak’ meeting.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that his party would conduct a survey for all 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra even though it is going to contest the election in alliance with the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. In fact, he said, all three parties will conduct their separate surveys for all seats and the deliberations over seat sharing will be held after considering all three surveys.

Ajit Pawar further said that  the Mahayuti government will soon appoint 12 legislative council members from the government quota. The seats have remained vacant for over four years. On November 6, 2020, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government approved a list of 12 candidates and later shared it with the governor for approval. However, then-governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari did not approve the list. Now, the Mahayuti government will submit a new list to governor Ramesh Bais. “Once the Maharashtra cabinet clears the proposal of 12 names to be appointed as MLC from the governor’s quota, it will get accepted soon,” Ajit Pawar said.

The government will also fill the post of chairman of the legislative council, which has been vacant for two years, since Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar retired on July 7, 2022. It is learnt that all three ruling parties have staked a claim for the post. The chairman will be appointed after the appointment of 12 MLCs and before the Assembly elections, which are expected to be held in October this year.