A Merc! Pratap Sarnaik’s ₹1.5-crore answer to PM Modi’s austerity call

The son of a journalist and a teacher, Sarnaik is a man of humble moorings. He was born in Wardha in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region but raised in Dombivli, a suburb in Thane district. Somewhere along the way, he acquired a taste for the good life

MUMBAI: For a man who loves flash and pomp, it must have really hurt – swapping his fuel-guzzling Land Cruiser for an EV – never mind that the EV just happens to be a Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV 580.

iiiMumbai, India - May 28, 2026: Minister of Transport of Maharashtra Pratap Sarnaik pose for the photos with his New EV Car at Thane in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

This was transport minister Pratap Sarnaik responding to the prime minister’s ‘Nation First’ call, urging citizens to conserve fuel and, if possible, avoid unnecessary travel to contain the fallout of the West Asia crisis.

“Under the circumstances, it makes sense to buy an electric vehicle,” says the Shiv Sena minister, stepping out of his luxury purchase, costing a cool ₹1.53 crore.

The son of a journalist and a teacher, Sarnaik is a man of humble moorings. He was born in Wardha in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region but raised in Dombivli, a suburb in Thane district. Somewhere along the way, he acquired a taste for the good life.

Now aged 62, Sarnaik belongs to the breed of politicians who flaunt their wealth. “I don’t see the need to hide anything. People know who am I and what I do,” quips the minister, who has deep roots in the construction and hospitality business, dresses impeccably and doesn’t miss a single workout at the gym.

A four-time MLA from Thane’s Owala-Majiwada constituency, Sarnaik is happy to court controversy, provided it’s for the good of the party. His recent rant, threatening to pull the licences of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers not fluent in Marathi kept him in the news for weeks. His pro-Marathi stand earned him brownie points with the Sena but it’s put Mumbai’s largely North Indian auto and taxi drivers on edge.

Their black-and-yellow carriages are no Mercs, but unlike luxury cars, they are a means of survival, and the transport minister, no less, has struck at the heart of that insecurity.

Sarnaik’s rise owes little to privilege and much to shrewd political moves, aided occasionally by a favourable turn of fate. Among his batchmates in S V Joshi School in Dombivli was Rashmi Patankar – now Rashmi Thackeray – wife of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.

His political career took off as a student leader with the National Students Union of India, a body affiliated to the Congress. Sarnaik developed a knack for making friends across political parties and, in Thane, teamed up with Jitendra Awhad (now a senior NCP-SP leader) and both prospered, first in the Congress and later the NCP.

When he was a corporator in Thane, Sarnaik became friends with a certain Eknath Shinde, who would go on to become chief minister one day. It was a friendship he would leverage one day.

Sarnaik quit the NCP and joined the undivided Shiv Sena in 2008. A high-profile legislator, he also had the blessings of the party’s first family. But, during the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, Sarnaik raised a stink when he suggested that the Sena team up with the BJP – even while Thackeray was chief minister.

“I could see people liked Modiji’s leadership and the BJP-Sena were natural allies,” he had claimed. The truth is a shade darker as Sarnaik’s controversial remarks came soon after central agencies began investigating him for certain contracts awarded by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

Then, in 2020, Sarnaik and members of his family received something all politicians have come to dread under the BJP-led regime – notices from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), alleging he had received kickbacks in the MMRDA contracts. Properties belonging to him and his family were also attached in a money laundering case.

Sarnaik bided his time and, two years later, spotted an opening. When Eknath Shinde split the Sena, brought down the Thackeray-led MVA government and installed himself in the chief minister’s chair, Sarnaik wasted little time in backing his old friend. The move paid handsome dividends. By 2024, Sarnaik had secured a place in the state cabinet. Word is, his cordial ties with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis did not hurt either.

As his political stock rose, so too did his business fortunes. Declared assets of ₹270 crore mask a business empire that straddles the real estate, construction and hospitality industries. Sarnaik and his family own more restaurants and hotels that one can count, and farm houses in Goa, Mahabaleshwar and Yeoor in Thane.

“Godrej Properties is our partner, and for the hotel business, we recently tied up with the Radisson group,” says Sarnaik. “I have earned my money through hard work and I don’t care what some people say about me,” he says.

Mumbai’s auto and taxi drivers may have a thing or two to say. Before his eco-friendly Merc made news, another purchase made by the transport minister made a splash. When Elon Musk launched his Tesla EVs in India in July last year, Sarnaik went to town about being the first Indian to own one.

How does that fit into Sarnaik’s austerity narrative? The minister has an answer: his grandson uses the Tesla for his school run. “I want him to learn about an environment-friendly lifestyle.” As explanations go, it’s quintessentially Sarnaik!