No talks between Bhujbal, Sena (UBT) about him joining our party: Raut

Mumbai: No dialogue has taken place between NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal and Shiv Sena (UBT) about him joining the party, and there is no possibility of it happening, said Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit on Wednesday Raut was responding to a query if former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Bhujbal, also a prominent OBC leader, was in talks with Sena (UBT) for a possible switch amid reports of rumblings within the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

The Rajya Sabha member said Bhujbal was in Shiv Sena at one point in time. A lot of time has passed since he quit the party. Even Sena has gone very far in this journey, he said.

“There is not an iota of truth in reports that talks are being held between Shiv Sena (UBT) and Bhujbal. There has been no dialogue between Sena (UBT) and Chhagan Bhujbal and there is no possibility of it,” Raut said.

Once a firebrand leader of the undivided Shiv Sena, Bhujbal quit the party nearly three decades ago to join the Congress. He then moved to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) when Sharad Pawar quit the Congress.

In 2023, he was among eight NCP leaders who took oath as ministers along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, marking a split in the Sharad Pawar-founded party.

There have been reports of Bhujbal being upset after he was denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Nashik and then a Rajya Sabha seat, which was filled by Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, Sunetra Pawar was defeated by her sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule.