Sena’s Sanjay Raut, BJP’s Ashish Shelar tight-lipped about meeting in Mumbai

Though the details of the meeting are not known, insiders believe that it assumes significance when the uncertainty over the fate of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government, comprising Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress looms large

Ahead of the monsoon session of the state legislature from Monday, hectic political developments are taking place in the state. After slew of open and secret meetings between leaders from the ruling and Opposition parties through the week, a secret meeting between Shiv Sena lawmaker Sanjay Raut and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Ashish Shelar reportedly took place at Nariman Point on Saturday, raising eyebrows in the political corridors again.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut. (Kunal Patil/HT Archive)

Though the details of the meeting are not known, insiders believe that it assumes significance when the uncertainty over the fate of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress looms large.

Both Shelar and Raut have denied to meeting each other. But Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that it was an “informal and friendly” meeting and there was nothing more to read out of it.

“Both of them are good friends. Such type of meetings keeps happening. There is no question of us extending an invitation to Shiv Sena to join hands,” said Patil.

The BJP has, in fact, aggravated its attack on the state’s ruling parties by pointing at the alleged corruption in the auction of the sugar factories. Patil wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday, demanding action against the 29 cooperative sugar factories on the lines of the action taken against Jarandeshwar sugar factory in Satara, which has been linked to the relatives of deputy chief minister (CM) Ajit Pawar. Patil, in his letter stated that action should be initiated against the sugar factories as they too were sold at throwaway prices to the directors of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB), in which Pawar and other politicians were directors.

“The factories which were auctioned by MSCB were purchased at throwaway prices by its directors, who happened to be politicians. Despite the 2019 Bombay high court order directing the economic offences wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police to take action, the cases against these 30 factories were closed. With action against Jarandeshwar sugar factory taken, the hopes of citizen of action against [accused’s] misdeeds have revived. I would request you to initiate similar action against 29 more such factories which were part of the court hearing,” the letter by Patil stated.

The sugar factories named in the letter include Ambadevi (Mumbai), Balaghat (Latur), Ram Ganesh Gadkari (Ahmednagar) Shankar Sahakari and Kannad Sahakari (Aurangabad), Akola Sahakar (Akola), Narsinha (Parbhani), Shankar Sahakari (Nanded), Muktabai (Jalgaon), among others.