Maharashtra's opposition politicians, facing ED, CBI investigations, are making a beeline for BJP

Maharashtra's opposition politicians, from Ajit Pawar to Ashok Chavan to Sanjay Raut, have joined BJP or its allies after they faced probes by central agencies

On Sunday, Ravindra Waikar, a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Jogeshwari, joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. He has been facing Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe in connection with construction of a luxury hotel in the western suburbs on a plot owned by the Mumbai civic body.

Maharashtra's changing equations: Shiv Sena UBT MLA Ravindra Waikar joined Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction at Varsha bunglow on Sunday. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Waikar is the latest among dozens of leaders from the opposition parties to join the BJP or its allies after they faced probes by central agencies.

Within a week of Adarsh housing scam being mentioned under the title ‘Pervasive Corruption’ in the white paper issued by the central government, former chief minister and prominent Congress leader Ashok Chavan switched over to the BJP.

Read: The ED case probing Ajit Pawar and associates

This has been a pattern for the last 10 years: Many leaders who faced corruption charges left their parties to join BJP or became BJP’s allies. Former Congress leader and state minister Harshvardhan Patil did not mince his words when he said he could sleep in peace after joining the BJP without fear of ED knocking at his door. In 2019, then state BJP president Raosaheb Danve had said that the party had a washing machine and washing powder that cleans leaders who were accused of corruption charges earlier. Thereafter the opposition has not missed an opportunity to slam the BJP for using ED, CBI and the I-T department to win people over.

The tactic of pressuring or cornering opposition leaders was employed by the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as well. When it was in power, BJP leaders such as Kirit Somaiya and Girish Mahajan too faced probe by investigation agencies.

Here is a list of people who faced inquiry recently.

NCP (Ajit Pawar faction)

Ajit Pawar, 64

Deputy chief minister in the Congress-NCP government till 2014 and later in the MVA government, Ajit Pawar was on the radar of investigation agencies for his alleged involvement in the state cooperative bank and money laundering scams. In October 2021 Income Tax (I-T) department raided residences of his three sisters in connection with the takeover of Jarandeshwar Co-operative Sugar Factory and alleged irregularities. ED in July 2021 also attached over ₹65 crore worth of land, building, plant and machinery of their sugar mill at Chimangaon-Koregaon in Satara under the anti-money laundering law. In January this year Ajit Pawar got a clean chit in the alleged state co-operative bank scam in which loans were given to the various co-operative sugar factories, textile mills etc after Mumbai Economic Offence Wing (EOW) submitted a closure report.

Chhagan Bhujbal, 76

Chhagan Bhujbal has been the face of OBCs in the NCP and a close aide of Sharad Pawar. During his stint as PWD minister Bhujbal was targeted by the opposition over alleged corruption in the construction of New Maharashtra Sadan, state government’s guest house and office in New Delhi. After the Devendra Fadnavis government came to power in 2014 Bhujbal and his nephew, former MP Sameer Bhujbal, were arrested over charges of money laundering by ED. He did time for two years from March 2016, and was granted bail in May 2018. There are also allegations of Bhujbal accepting kickbacks through firms belonging to his relatives and employees. The agency claimed that a total of ₹857 crore was laundered, but it managed to attach properties worth ₹156 crore only.

Dilip Walse- Patil, 67

Son of former MLA Dattatray Walse-Patil, Dilip Walse-Patil began his political career as Sharad Pawar’s personal assistant. He was cabinet minister from 1999 to 2009 and from 2019 to June 2022. He again became a minister in July 2023 after the split in NCP under the leadership of Ajit Pawar. In November 2021 I-T department conducted raids on Parag Dairy and business establishments of his close friend Devendra Shah. Since then, BJP has kept the pressure on Walse-Patil.

Hasan Mushrif, 69

Hasan Mushrif, MLA from Kagal, Kolhapur, has been a staunch Sharad Pawar supporter, and held various ministries in the Congress-NCP and MVA governments.

In July 2019, BJP state president Chandrakant Patil publicly invited Mushrif to join the BJP, which the latter declined, saying he would never leave Sharad Pawar’s side. Ten days later, I-T raids were conducted on his house but Mushrif did not relent. Subsequently, during the MVA rule, ED conducted raids on him after allegations of corruption and money laundering in a sugar factory by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. In March and April of 2023 central agencies initiated action against him and ED summoned him for an inquiry. Mushrif joined Ajit Pawar to split NCP in June last year; he is a minister in the three-party government.

Dhananjay Munde, 48

Dhananjay Munde, the nephew of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, is now the state agriculture minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government. During his tenure as the social justice minister in the MVA government, Munde courted controversy over his relationship with Karuna Sharma, a political aspirant, who claimed that he was the father of her two children. Subsequently, Renu, her sister also alleged that Munde had a relationship with her as well but she was booked on the charge of extortion from two political leaders with threats of defamation, in 2021.

Shiv Sena (Shinde Faction)

Ravindra Waikar, 65

MLA from Jogeshwari and one of Uddhav Thackeray’s closest aides, Waikar was earlier a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government. He was on ED radar in connection with construction of a luxury hotel in the suburb on land owned by the BMC. ED conducted raids on Waikar’s home and other places on January 9, 2024. He was also summoned for a day-long inquiry in a case of money laundering and alleged irregularities in the construction of the hotel. On Sunday, Waikar switched to the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena in the latter’s presence.

Pratap Sarnaik, 59

Pratap Sarnaik has been a three-time MLA of Shiv Sena, who joined Eknath Shinde’s rebellion in June 2022. Sarnaik was on ED’s radar over a ₹175-crore money laundering case. ED had attached ₹11.35 crore worth of his properties in an alleged ₹5,600 crore fraud at the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL). At the time he had urged then CM Uddhav Thackeray to save Sena leaders from being “harassed by central agencies”.

Arjun Khotkar, 62

Arjun Khotkar was once Uddhav Thackeray’s trusted aide in the Marathwada region. He came under ED’s radar for an alleged money laundering case. The agency raided the Jalana Co-operative Sugar factory, where he was the director and chairman in early 2000. He was also a director on the board of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB). It was alleged that Khotkar’s firm bought the sugar factory at a throwaway price, following which a case of money laundering was lodged against him.

Anandrao Adsul, 76

Former MP of Amravati, Anandrao Adsul was the trusted aide of Thackeray and also made minister of finance in central government. In September 2021 ED raided places related to Adsul in connection with ₹980 crore City Co-operative Bank scam case. Adsul was former chairman of the bank. He was booked for alleged irregularities in disbursement of loan funds and other financial transactions of the bank. After the split in Shiv Sena Adsul joined Eknath Shinde.

Bhavana Gawali, 50

MP Bhavana Gawali was probed by ED in a money laundering case related to an NGO Mahila Utkarsha Pratishthan. Her close associate Saeed Khan was arrested in September 2021 and ED had attached an office space worth ₹3.5 crore. The agency alleged Gawali and her associates had conspired to convert the NGO into a company under the Company Act through forgery in January 2020. Gawali moved to Shinde’s side after Sena split up.

Yashwant Jadhav, 61

Yashwant Jadhav has held the post of chairman of the standing committee of BMC for five years between 2017 and 2022. The I-T department raided his house in February 2022 on charges of money laundering through shell companies. It was alleged that he sent around ₹15 crore to UAE. Thereafter, ED initiated a probe against his wife Yamini Jadhav, who is the MLA from Byculla, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). In June 2022 both Yashwant and Yamini exited Thackeray’s party and joined the Shinde faction.

BJP

Girish Mahajan, 63

Girish Mahajan, BJP leader from Jalgaon, was known as a trouble shooter when Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister. During the MVA rule in November 2020 the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police conducted raids on Sunil Zanvar, Mahajan’s close aide, in the Raisoni multistate co-operative society matter. It was alleged that many leaders were involved in benami property deals through auction of lands and assets of the borrowers who had defaulted on loans. Now he is firm in the saddle as rural development and tourism minister.

Kirit Somaiya, 70

Former MP Kirit Somaiya is a BJP leader and has been on the forefront of various complaints and allegations of corruption against Shiv Sena and NCP leaders. During the MVA government under chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in April 2022 police registered a case of cheating against Somaiya and his son Neil for alleged misappropriation of over ₹57 crore, collected to save the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. In December 2022 the case was closed, after Sena (Shinde)-BJP alliance came to power. Since then he has been a one-man crusader.

NCP (Sharad Pawar faction)

Rohit Pawar, 38

Grandson of NCP founder Sharad Pawar’s brother Appasaheb, Rohit is NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahmednagar. He is also an entrepreneur and chief executive officer of Baramati Agro Limited. After his uncle Ajit Pawar split the party to join the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, Rohit chose to stand by senior Pawar. He is facing ED probe for acquiring a sick cooperative sugar mill in Maharashtra. ED alleged that the factory was sold by officials and directors of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank at a throwaway price without following due procedure. On Friday, the ED attached assets of the company.

Shiv Sena (UBT)

Anil Parab, 59

MLC Anil Parab who was the transport minister in the MVA government was a key strategist for Uddhav Thackeray. He also looked after the party’s legal matters. Parab was probed by ED in a money laundering case related to a resort in Dapoli, in Ratnagiri district, first brought against him by Kirit Somaiya. It was also alleged that Sai Resort in Dapoli, stood in a no development zone.

Rajan Salvi, 58

MLA Rajan Salvi from Rajapur constituency in Ratnagiri district is a trusted Thackeray aide. The ACB initiated an inquiry against Salvi for misappropriation of assets to the tune of ₹3.5 crore earlier this year. Salvi and members of his family were raided by the bureau several times in the last year-and-a-half. Salvi stated that both he and his family were harassed by ACB as he had refused to join the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena.

Kishori Pednekar, 61

Kishori Pednekar is former mayor of BMC and a trusted leader close to the Thackeray family. Pednekar faced ED probe in connection with an alleged scam in the purchase of body bags by BMC during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was questioned several times by ED in relation to money laundering in the case.

Sanjay Raut, 62

MP Sanjay Raut is editor of party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ and also chief spokesperson for the Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena. Raut was arrested by ED in August 2022 for alleged money laundering amounting to ₹1200 crore in the redevelopment of Patra Chawl. Raut was in jail for 102 days and later granted bail by court.