Rebel MLA’s words from Guwahati hotel take social media by a storm

Kaay zhadi, kaay dongar, kaay hotel, okay madhye aahe (Superb greenery, beautiful hills and a well-equipped hotel, I am very comfortable)

Kaay zhadi, kaay dongar, kaay hotel, okay madhye aahe (Superb greenery, beautiful hills and a well-equipped hotel, I am very comfortable).

Shiv Sena MLA Shahajibapu Patil HT Archives

These were the words Shiv Sena rebel Shahajibapu Patil said in an amazed tone to his loyalist Rafiq Nadaf while describing the view from his Guwahati hotel.

An audio clip of the conversation that took place sometime last week has gone viral on social media, inviting a flood of memes and jokes.

The fun does not stop here.

The legislator from drought-prone Sangola in Solapur has become the admiration of the hospitality industry as well. His words are now being used as a punchline in hill stations like Igatpuri, and on the Konkan coastline.

In what set tongues wagging, Patil is heard telling Nadaf that Eknath Shinde, the leader of the rebel camp, considered him as a son. But, while Patil is 67, Shinde is nine years younger.

The MLA, who holds B.Sc and LLB degrees, predicted that Devendra Fadnavis would return as the chief minister with Shinde his deputy.

Patil claimed that the rebel Sena legislators were not against chief minister and party president Uddhav Thackeray. “Every MLA considers him akin to God,” he said, adding that it is the fear of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress taking over their base is what is driving the rebels to take this step.

In the over 21-minute clip, he is also heard telling Nadaf that Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut is upset at his brother and MLA Sunil Raut not being inducted as a minister.

When contacted, Nadaf said he was not aware of who leaked the conversation. “Patil’s phone was switched off, and he called me from another, unknown number. The owner of that phone may have leaked that clip,” he said.

Patil is described as a man who is addicted to politics. The resident of Chikmahud village is said to have sold his ancestral farm land to fund his power play.

“Bapu has been in politics since his college days as a worker of the National Students Union of India [NSUI] [Congress’ students’ wing]. He was involved in student politics even after he left Shivaji University [at Kolhapur]. Bapu was the NSUI’s chief for western Maharashtra and later graduated to the Youth Congress and became the vice-president for the state when Manikrao Thakre was the president,” said Nadaf, who has been associated with Patil since 1994 when he [Nadaf] was just 20.

In 1990, Patil first contested the assembly elections from Sangola on a Congress ticket against Peasants and Workers Party leader Ganpatrao Deshmukh. The fight had an undercurrent of the rivalry between the Marathas, the caste which Patil belongs to, and Deshmukh, who hailed from the Dhangar [shepherd] community, though Patil lost. He trounced Deshmukh in 1995 as a Congress candidate.

In 1999, Patil joined the NCP, which was formed that year, but unsuccessfully fought as an Independent after the party denied him a ticket. He also lost as a Congress nominee in 2004 and 2009 and as a Sena candidate in 2014.

“Bapu contested seven elections, and won just two. He lost four times in a row. This takes a toll [on finances],” said Nadaf, who is a former corporator in Sangola for three terms and has also been the municipal council president. He claimed that this made Patil sell around 150 acres of ancestral land.

In 2019, Patil defeated Deshmukh’s grandson Aniket. He fought as a Sena nominee though he was said to be eager to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, the seat was with Sena as part of the distribution in the alliance.

Insiders said after being elected, like most rebel legislators, Patil inched closer to Shinde due to Thackeray’s inaccessibility and Shinde’s help in diverting development funds for his constituency.

Patil, who holds B.Sc and LLB degrees, also controls a sugar cooperative and a spinning mill in the constituency.

Nadaf described Patil’s personality as “rangda, mokla-dhakla, dilkhulas” (macho, open and outspoken).

In May last year, when there were plans to divert water from Ujani dam, which caters to dry Solapur, and to Indapur in Pune district, Patil lashed out at the NCP and its chief Sharad Pawar and threatened a “blood-soaked protest.” Patil alleged that whenever Pawar was in power, he only worked for the development of his pocket borough of Baramati (which borders Indapur).