Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Celebration (NCP) chief and celebration founder Sharad Pawar’s nephew, Ajit Pawar, Sunday led a gaggle of 9 celebration MLAs to affix the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) authorities in Maharashtra. Whereas Ajit took oath as deputy chief minister — a submit he’ll share with the Bharatiya Janata Celebration’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis, the opposite eight have been additionally inducted as ministers within the authorities.
These embrace Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode.
The brand new additions take the variety of ministers within the Maharashtra cupboard to 29, towards a most permitted variety of 43. Not one of the new ministers have been assigned portfolios but.
In the meantime, in a late-night transfer Sunday, the NCP filed a disqualification petition towards Ajit and the eight others, accusing them of violating the celebration whip and becoming a member of the Shinde authorities with out informing NCP nationwide president, Sharad Pawar.
ThePrint profiles the 9 new ministers.
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Ajit Pawar
Ajit has been energetic in politics for the previous three many years. Together with his present stint, he has taken oath as Maharashtra deputy chief minister 5 instances.
Whereas he has beforehand additionally served as member of Parliament from Baramati, he has primarily focussed on consolidating his place in Maharashtra and has served as residence minister, finance minister, energy minister, irrigation minister and excise minister within the state authorities up to now.
The rift between Sharad and nephew Ajit resurfaced many instances over the previous few years.
Following the 2019 meeting elections, whereas the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress tried to cobble collectively an alliance to stake declare to kind the federal government, Ajit Pawar had, similarly, prolonged help to the Fadnavis-led BJP. At a hurried oath-taking ceremony, he was sworn in because the deputy chief minister.
Nevertheless, his tenure lasted only some days as Fadnavis didn’t show his numbers. Ajit in the meantime, returned to the NCP, was ‘forgiven’ and even went on to develop into the Chief of the Opposition (LoP) within the meeting — the submit he mentioned final week he didn’t need anymore.
Sharad had final month appointed his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, together with Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel, because the celebration’s working presidents.
The transfer led to hypothesis that Sharad, a former Union minister and chief minister of Maharashtra, had settled the talk over who out of daughter Supriya and nephew Ajit would take over the reins of the celebration after him.
Ajit confronted a number of circumstances together with a probe by Maharashtra Police’s Financial Offences Wing (EoW) into alleged irregularities in loans sanctioned by Maharashtra State Cooperative Financial institution.
Quickly after the EoW launched a probe into the fees, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) additionally filed a case in reference to the alleged rip-off.
Nevertheless, citing lack of proof, the EOW filed a closure report earlier than a particular courtroom in September 2020.
One other case towards Ajit Pawar dates again to when he was the water assets minister within the Congress-NCP authorities (2008-2014) and chairman of the Vidarbha Irrigation Improvement Scheme.
The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) started investigating allegations of irregularities in allotment of irritation initiatives. Nevertheless, a day after Ajit prolonged help to BJP’s Fadnavis within the aftermath of the 2019 meeting elections, the ACB submitted a report within the Bombay Excessive Courtroom, giving him a clear chit. Whereas the report is but to be accepted by the excessive courtroom, BJP leaders have been demanding a re-investigation into the matter.
Chhagan Bhujbal
Chhagan Bhujbal becoming a member of the Shinde authorities has come as a shocker for a lot of, as he has been thought of a Sharad loyalist.
Among the many outstanding different backward castes (OBC) leaders of Maharashtra, Bhujbal belongs to the Mali neighborhood and was beforehand a member of the Shiv Sena. He left the celebration in 1991 to affix Sharad, who was then with the Congress.
When Sharad shaped the NCP in 1999, Bhujbal, who was then the chief of opposition within the Maharashtra Legislative Council, adopted him.
The primary one to develop into the NCP state unit chief in 1999, he had served as Maharashtra’s deputy CM up to now and is presently MLA from Yeola, Nashik.
In 2015, the ACB had filed a case towards Bhujbal and 16 others within the Bombay Excessive Courtroom over alleged irregularities in awarding of contracts of over Rs 100 crore for 3 initiatives, when Bhujbal was the state PWD minister in 2006.
The case dates again to when the state authorities issued a contract for the development of a brand new Maharashtra Sadan constructing in Delhi, allegedly with out inviting tenders, to Okay.S. Chamankar Enterprises. The general public-private partnership contract — which additionally included the development of a brand new Regional Transport Workplace constructing in Andheri and a state visitor home in Malabar Hill — fell inside Bhujbal’s ambit.
The case led to Bhujbal being in jail for 2 years. He nonetheless faces prison costs for alleged irregularities within the building of a library in Kalina and offences the ED has alleged primarily based on ACB circumstances.
Dilip Walse Patil
One other shut confidante of Sharad to change sides Sunday was Dilip Patil. His political profession additionally spans over three many years, and he began off as Sharad’s private assistant.
Patil is a seven-time MLA from Ambegaon constituency. He has served as residence minister, finance minister and energy minister up to now, and in addition been a speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Meeting.
He was Sharad’s decide as residence minister, after Anil Deshmukh needed to resign from the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities — an alliance of the Uddhav Thackeray-led undivided Siv Sena, the NCP and the Congress — following graft costs. The MVA authorities collapsed final 12 months when Shinde led a gaggle of insurgent Sena MLAs to affix arms with the BJP.
Hasan Mushrif
Hasan Mushrif is a outstanding chief from Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra. He’s a five-term MLA from Kagal constituency and three-time state cupboard minister.
He has beforehand served as Maharashta’s minister of labour.
In March this 12 months, the ED searched Mushrif’s residence in Mumbai in reference to alleged irregularities within the functioning of Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Manufacturing unit Ltd and corporations linked to his household. He had then known as it a “deliberate try” to implicate him.
Mushrif sought a pre-arrest bail and in his software, claimed that he was summoned for questioning — ‘regardless of lack of any incriminating materials towards him’ — many instances as predicted by BJP chief and former MP Kirit Somaiya in tweets and press conferences.
The ED investigation was “nothing however the results of a motivated conspiracy, indicating clear mala fides in order to negatively have an effect on the ever-rising political profession of the applicant,” Mushrif claimed within the software.
However his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the particular courtroom in April. Following that, he approached the Bombay Excessive Courtroom which final week prolonged the safety from arrest granted to him until 11 July.
Dhananjay Munde
Dhananjay Munde represents the Parli constituency within the Maharashtra meeting.
He’s nephew of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, and an in depth aide of Ajit Pawar. In 2019 when Ajit had joined the Fadnavis authorities, Munde had adopted him, however returned to the Sharad camp the identical night.
Aditi Tatkare
Aditi Tatkare, daughter of NCP Rajya Sabha member Sunil Tatkare, represents the Shrivardhan constituency of Raigad district within the Maharashtra meeting. She is a first-time MLA and was minister of state within the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities.
On Sunday she turned the primary lady minister within the Shinde authorities.
Sunil Tatkare was embroiled within the multi-crore irrigation rip-off together with Ajit Pawar. The ACB had named him within the chargesheet, however not as an accused.
Sanjay Bansode
Sanjay Bandsode is MLA from Udgir in Latur district.
Dharmarao Baba Atram
Dharmarao Baba Atram represents the Aheri constituency within the Maharashtra meeting. A Scheduled Tribes (ST) chief and four-term MLA, Sunday’s oath-taking turned his fourth time as a Maharashtra minister.
Anil Bhaidas Patil
Anil Patil is MLA from Amalner and was the NCP whip within the meeting earlier than becoming a member of the Shinde authorities.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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