Mumbai: The Bombay High Court decision to grant bail to senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday, is set to boost the morale of the party as one of its most aggressive and senior leaders will soon join the team ahead of the Assembly polls next year.
‘A good day’
NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil welcomed the decision and said it was late but right. Senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule called it a ‘good’ day for the NCP. “We were sure from Day One that he is innocent. Now he has got bail. It was his right as per Supreme Court decision. We are sure that Bhujbal saheb will continue to guide us in the fight against anti-people regime,” Ms. Sule said.
“A senior leader like Bhujbal saheb facing the vindictive politics of state government for two years despite Supreme Court’s certain orders was itself painful. But now honorable court has given him bail. We are sure that he will also come out clean from this case,” said Mr Patil. Mr Bhujbal’s followers from Nashik, Pune, Ahmednagar and few other districts celebrated the court order granting bail to their leader by dancing on the road and distributing sweets to the public.
Active politics
Party insiders feel Mr. Bhujbal will take a few weeks to get back to active politics. They, however accept that the HC decision has filled party workers with enthusiasm. Despite being in jail for two years, he continues to be one of the strongest OBC leaders in the state. After the death of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath Munde, leaders such as Pankaja Munde (BJP) or Dhananjay Munde, and Jitendra Awhad (both NCP) could not match Mr. Bhujbal’s popularity.
“Now there is no senior and strong leader among OBCs like him. If he decides to reach out to his constituency spread across Maharashtra and talk about the political injustice being done to him in last few years, then it could create ripples in the political arena of the state,” said a senior leader of the NCP. But he added that Mr. Bhujbal’s health need to allow him for the hard work ahead.
