‘ED Hai Toh...’: How Washing Machine Politics Rinsed Maharashtra

The following is an excerpt from Rajdeep Sardesai’s book, 2024: The Election That Surprised India.

It was a mid-summer evening in May 2023. Despite the air-conditioning in the Nashik hotel room, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal was sweating profusely. As he sipped a glass of his favourite whisky, he looked and sounded anxious. He had a greying beard, tired eyes and a gaunt look on his face; the spring in his step that had characterized his adventurous political career was missing. Just a few days earlier, he had received yet another notice from the ED in an alleged money laundering case. The original case had been filed in 2016, and the matter had been dragging on ever since. Accused, along with his son and nephew, of irregularities in awarding contracts worth over Rs 100 crore to a Mumbai developer, Bhujbal had already spent two and a half years in jail before he was
granted bail. The lengthy period in jail had adversely affected his health, and he was constantly popping pills. ‘I can’t sleep at night just thinking of my days in prison. I am seventy-five now, but they [the ED] are still gunning for me,’ he moaned.

‘But you are such a senior leader. I am sure Sharad Pawar will help you,’ I responded. ‘When you are in trouble, you are alone in life. Who was there to assist me when I was in jail? Matlabi hai saari duniya (The world is selfish),’ Bhujbal lamented, asking his aide to prepare another round of drinks. He recalled how Anil Deshmukh, former home minister and another senior NCP leader, was released after spending thirteen months in jail on money-laundering charges. Upon his release, Deshmukh had alleged he was made an ‘offer’ in jail to join the BJP if he wanted ‘protection’ from the law. ‘Ab woh mujhe bhi Deshmukh ji ki tarah phasana chahate hain (Now they want to trap me like Deshmukh),’ alleged Bhujbal.

Bhujbal, who is a former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, joined Pawar when the latter broke away to form the NCP in 1999. He started his career in the Shiv Sena as one of Bal Thackeray’s key lieutenants. Bhujbal grew up in extreme poverty, living in a tiny one-room tenement near Mumbai’s Byculla market. His family sold flowers and vegetables on the roadside to make ends meet. Now, like so many Maharashtra politicians, he spearheads a vast business empire that stretches across several sectors, from educational institutes to real estate to agriculture. ‘I am a self-made man who has come up the hard way because of my own efforts. The only reason that the agencies are after me is because I come from a humble OBC community. Do you think they will treat any upper-caste politician like this?’ he fulminated. The OBC factor was Bhujbal’s calling card: in a Maratha-dominated political milieu, he used it frequently to emphasize his relevance.

Bhujbal’s life story is compelling; the reasons for his imprisonment less so. The charges of corruption are well-documented, but I was trying to be as empathetic as possible and listened patiently to his woes. ‘There is only one solution now. We have to join hands with Modiji and the BJP. Even Pawar Saheb knows this, only he can’t seem to make up his mind,’ he said as large plates of chicken tikka and seekh kebab were placed on the table. Bhujbal is a generous host. The whisky bottle was almost empty by now. But how will joining hands with the BJP help your case, I asked. ‘Come on, why are you acting innocent? Everyone knows what is happening,’ he retorted.

Just weeks after this conversation, in July 2023, I was woken up from a Sunday snooze by a colleague on the news desk. ‘We need you live on air right away. The NCP has split. Ajit Pawar is being sworn in along with a few more NCP leaders, all of whom are joining the Eknath Shinde-led BJP–Shiv Sena government,’ he informed me. As I scanned the names of the new cabinet ministers, one name stood out. Chhagan Bhujbal was back in government. A few days later, I met Bhujbal at his official bungalow in Mumbai’s plush Malabar Hill area. He had lived in ministerial comfort for much of the previous three decades and seemed completely at ease here—a sharp contrast to the nervous Opposition politician I had met in that dark Nashik hotel room. ‘I assume you are sleeping well now?’ I quipped. ‘Yes, yes, I am so relaxed now, I can’t tell you—it is like a rebirth,’ was Bhujbal’s cheery response. His broad smile was back.

As it turned out, the sense of relief in the Bhujbal household was not unfounded. In December 2023, the ED withdrew its petition in
the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of a 2018 order that had granted Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer bail and allowed them to renew their passports and travel abroad. The case was for all practical purposes put in cold storage. Bhujbal was no longer a marked man.

Rajdeep Sardesai is a news anchor, journalist and author.