Ex-MP Sameer Bhujbal appointed rival NCP’s Mumbai unit chief

Mumbai: Senior leader and former MP Sameer Magan Bhujbal has been appointed the Mumbai unit President of the breakaway chapter of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an official said here on Wednesday.

Sameer Bhujbal is the nephew of state Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and the appointment was announced by NCP national President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Working President Praful Patel and state President Sunil Tatkare.

Pawar said that Sameer Bhujbal has been quietly working from the backstage for the past 25 years to build the party, and will now carry out the work of expanding it in Mumbai which was largely ignored.

“We have got an experienced and visionary youthful leader and by paying more attention to the city, he will create a revolution in Mumbai,” Pawar said.

Sameer Bhujbal, who has extensively worked in Mumbai as in his home town Nashik -- which he represented in the Lok Sabha from 2009-2014 -- played a key role along with Chhagan Bhujbal to give a strong foundation to the NCP in its early days.

His appointment is expected to give a fillip to the party’s fortunes in the state capital ahead of the crucial civic, Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.