Maharashtra Politics: BJP Welcomes Sudhakar Badgujar, Ex-Close Aide Of Sanjay Raut, Amid Protests Over Underworld Links

Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) suffered a blow Tuesday with the defection of Sudhakar Badgujar, a former close aide of MP Sanjay Raut, to the BJP. But far from a celebration, his entry has exposed serious fissures within the saffron party.

Badgujar's past links with underworld figure Salim Kutta—allegedly close to Dawood Ibrahim and involved in the 1993 Mumbai blasts—had earlier drawn fierce condemnation from BJP leaders. Minister Nitesh Rane had even waved pictures in the Assembly showing Badgujar dancing at a party where Kutta was present. Yet on Tuesday, BJP Minister Girish Mahajan—who oversees party affairs in Nashik—formally inducted Badgujar into the party.

This sparked unrest among state and local leaders. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule initially claimed ignorance, but later appeared at the party office to welcome Badgujar and another Sena leader, Babanrao Gholap. Nashik MLA Seema Hiray and other BJP leaders openly opposed Badgujar’s entry.

Despite internal protests, Mahajan pushed ahead, reportedly with backing from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Badgujar, expelled earlier by Sena UBT for criticising the local unit, arrived at the BJP office in a massive show of strength—100 buses, several cars, and around 4,000 supporters. Sanjay Raut and other Sena UBT leaders circulated old clips of Rane attacking Badgujar.

“BJP is a party full of shameless people,” Raut posted on X, calling its talk of patriotism and Hindutva a “sham.” Badgujar’s induction is seen as a strategic move ahead of the Nashik civic polls, though it risks complicating seatsharing with allies Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP.