Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar also present at the event, alongside other prominent ministers in the Mahayuti government.
#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra | NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal takes oath as a minister in the Maharashtra government at the Raj Bhavan.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar also present. pic.twitter.com/B215pQvRkP— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2025
He was appointed to the cabinet following the resignation of Dhananjay Munde, a fellow NCP leader who stepped down as the food, civil supplies, and consumer protection minister in March following the arrest of his close aide Walmik Karad in the case related to the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
Born on October 15, 1947, Chhagan Bhujbal has had a remarkable and eventful political career spanning decades. He was noticeably absent from Chief Minister Fadnavis’ cabinet expansion in December 2024.
In his early years, he worked as a vegetable vendor at Mumbai’s Byculla Market. He earned a diploma in engineering.
Bhujbal, an MLA from Yeola in Nashik district, previously held key cabinet minister positions and served as deputy chief minister in various Maharashtra governments.
His political career started with the Shiv Sena in the 1960s, when the regional movement pushing for Marathi speakers’ rights was at its height. The veteran politician remained with this party for about 25 years.
In 1985, he was elected as a Shiv Sena MLA from Mazagaon and won the seat twice. Due to differences with the Shiv Sena over OBC reservation during the Mandal movement, he quit the party in 1991 and joined the Indian National Congress.
Later, in 1999, he joined Sharad Pawar’s NCP. The same year, he was appointed Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister under the Congress-NCP coalition government. He served as Maharashtra’s fifth Deputy Chief Minister from October 18, 1999, to December 23, 2003.
The Mahayuti coalition is made up of the BJP, the Shiv Sena, and the NCP.
