Maharashtra: Chhagan Bhujbal calls on Sharad Pawar, politics not on the menu

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal called on NCP President Sharad Pawar at the latter’s residence for a ‘reunion’ meeting here on Friday. Bhujbal returned home a week after hospitalisation on Thursday following bail granted by the Bombay High Court and was greeted with the first phone call from Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief.

Reciprocating the gesture, Bhujbal’s first meeting was with Pawar, said party spokesperson Nawab Malik. “There was no political discussions. It was mostly about my medical conditions. As a father-figure, Pawar advised me to take proper care of my health,” Bhujbal told the media.

After reaching home after spending around 26 months in jail, Bhujbal, 71, had indicated that he would bounce back to active politics soon. A prominent OBC leader and founder of Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, Bhujbal is slated to address a public meeting of the NCP on its 20th anniversary on June 10 in Pune, according to party General Secretary Praful Patel.

The rally would signal Bhujbal’s political rehabilitation which he plans to consolidate with follow up meetings in his home district Nashik.