A controversial figure once linked to an associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Sudhakar Badgujar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of state minister Girish Mahajan at the party's Mumbai headquarters on Tuesday. He was expelled by the Shiv Sena (UBT) on June 4 for alleged anti-party activities.
The development has triggered a wave of criticism for the BJP which had been heavily critical of the leader in the past over a video purportedly showing him dancing with Saleem ‘Kutta’, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. Badgujar faced charges under the UAPA for this.
And the criticism over the move has not been limited to the Opposition alone. BJP MLA Seema Hiray publicly opposed Badgujar’s induction into the party. "I was among those who had called him anti-national. There are serious criminal charges pending against him. He even contested against me. How can we welcome him into our fold now?" she said.
With voices rising from within, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday stepped in to defend the induction of former Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sudhakar Badgujar into the BJP and claimed that there no opposition to the move, including from state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule who has been opposed to Badgujar's induction in the party.
Who is Sudhakar Badgujar?
A former Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Badgujar was once known to be a close associate of the party's spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. He is a successful contractor with considerable financial clout, especially in the Nashik region. A three-term corporator, he rose to become the Shiv Sena's Nashik district chief and sided with the Uddhav Thackeray faction when the party split.
Badgujar came under spotlight when BJP MLA Nitesh Rane accused him of sheltering Salim 'Kutta', an alleged associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and a convict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. A video of Badgujar dancing with Salim Kutta at a private event also surfaced around that time.
AN FIR was registered against him under the UAPA by the then Mahayuti government which also constituted an SIT to probe the matter. Badgujar continues to be externed from the Nashik district, a decision he is still contesting in court.
Moreover, the BJP has often propped up the allegations against Badgujar in the past to target the Shiv Sena (UBT). Ahead of the Assembly elections in 2024, BJP leaders also claimed that Badgujar's son Deepak had been booked under the MCOCA in 2021 in a murder case.
BJP's change of heart
Despite the cases against him and unsuccessful attempts to gain a seat in the Maharashtra Assembly, Badgujar continues to wield immense influence in the Nashik region in the state, a factor that makes him a strategic choice for the BJP to have on their side ahead of the municipal election set to be held later this year.
While a section of the BJP believes that the differences between Badgujar and Hiray, who have squared off twice in the 2014 and 2024 Assembly elections from Nashik West, could reflect poorly on the party, another faction believes that this would hurt the Shiv Sena (UBT) more in the civic polls since Nashik remains the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s bastion.
Badgujar was expelled from the Sena (UBT) over alleged anti-party activities on June 4. The move came soon after he met Fadnavis to reportedly lobby for filling vacant posts in the Nashik Municipal Corporation.
It is possibly in view of the upcoming civic elections that many BJP leaders, who were heavily critical of Badgujar and his alleged activities, have changed tune. Nitesh Rane, who linked Badgujar to Dawood Ibrahim when he was with the Shiv Sena, Tuesday said that Badgujar was a "changed man", that he had been "heading towards Hindutva" and his has also participated in morchas of Hindu organisations.
Chief Minister Fadnavis also defended Badgujar and said that the charges against the leader were never proven. "t is true that there were allegations against Badgujar and our Nitesh Rane also shared a video. However, after a probe was conducted, no action was taken. This is when he was in the Opposition. So there is no question about us giving him a clean chit because he joined the BJP. Now he is in the BJP, leaving his past, and should follow the ethics of the party," Fadnavis said.
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