Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 20 (HBTV): Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday morning took oath as a minister in the Mahayuti-led Maharashtra government at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

The oath-taking ceremony was held in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, who administered Bhujbal’s oath. Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and other Mahayuti cabinet ministers were also in attendance.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde noted Bhujbal’s extensive experience in government and said the chief minister would decide his portfolio. ‘Chhagan Bhujbal has served as a minister before. He led many departments, beginning his political career as a corporator and mayor, then as an MLA and minister. He is also a Shiv Sainik of Balasaheb Thackeray. Today, he has taken the oath again. I congratulate him and believe his experience will benefit the government. The portfolio will be decided by the chief minister,’ Shinde said.

State BJP chief and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule welcomed Bhujbal’s inclusion, calling him ‘an OBC leader’ whose appointment will strengthen the government. He added that Bhujbal would play a major role in fulfilling the resolve of Viksit Maharashtra.

Bhujbal, the MLA from Yeola in Nashik district, previously served as a cabinet minister and as Maharashtra’s fifth deputy chief minister from 1999 to 2003. He began his political career with the Shiv Sena in the 1960s during the movement for Marathi-speaking rights.

(ANI)