Sudhir Mungantiwar didn’t attend the legislature session on the first day.
Nagpur:
Senior BJP leader from Maharashtra, Sudhir Mungantiwar, on Monday, claimed his name had figured in the list of ministers who took the oath a day before but it was removed later.
A day after Mungantiwar failed to find a place in the expanded Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet, the BJP leader said he was not upset and stressed he was an organisation man.
“I will continue to work for people of my constituency and highlight issues about their welfare in the legislative assembly,” the former forest minister told reporters in Nagpur.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hinted that BJP leadership may assign another role to Mungantiwar.
“I had spoken to Mungantiwar. He is a senior leader and the leadership may entrust him with any other responsibility,” the chief minister said.
A total of 39 legislators of Mahayuti allies took oath as ministers- 33 of cabinet rank and six others as ministers of state- at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur on Sunday as part of the first expansion of the Fadnavis-led cabinet.
The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 ministers of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 by Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Mungantiwar claimed he was told earlier that his name was included in the list of ministers.
“There is no reason for me to be upset as I do my job in whatever role the party assigns to me. The only issue is that I was told that my name was there (in the list of ministers). But it wasn’t there yesterday. I don’t know why my name was removed,” the seven-time BJP MLA told reporters in Nagpur.
Mungantiwar didn’t attend the legislature session on the first day on Monday though he was in Nagpur.
When asked if the BJP leadership was upset with him, Mungantiwar said such things are not expressed by denying the ministerial position.
Queried if the BJP leadership was upset with him, he said they would call and speak to him if that is the case.
“Maybe the BJP has some other responsibility planned for me,” he added.
Mungantiwar met with Union minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari at the latter’s residence in Nagpur on Monday.
He described his meeting with Gadkari as the one between an elder brother and a younger brother.
“When such things come up I take his guidance,” he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
