Bookies make Rs 2,500 crore on Chavan

Uncertainty in the state government following the Adarsh Society scam has given the bookies a chance to mint money.

Uncertainty in the state government following the Adarsh Society scam has given the bookies a chance to mint money.

HT Image

Bookies have done business worth R2,500 crore on chief minister Ashok Chavan’s resignation and who his successor will be. The bookies started accepting bets on Chavan’s resignation and the appointment of a new chief minister from October 30. Till Monday, they had received bets worth R2,000 crore. “On Tuesday alone, when Chavan’s resignation was accepted, we got business worth R500 crore,” a bookie from Mumbai said.

Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, is the top contender for the CM’s post according to bookies who have accepted bets at R1.15 per rupee on him. This means if Prithviraj becomes CM, a punter betting R1 on him will get an additional R1.15.

Maharashtra’s transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil follows Chavan. Bookies have put R1.65 on him. Maharashtra’s cooperation and marketing minister Harshvardhan Patil is at number three with a betting rate of R3.50 per rupee on him.

Former chief minister and union minister for power Sushilkumar Shinde come next at R5.50. The bookies do not think that Deshmukh will be back as CM. The rates for Deshmukh, who is Union minister for heavy industries and public enterprises, as high as R14. If the bets are anything to go by, revenue minister Narayan Rane hardly has a chance of becoming CM with a bet of R70 per rupee on his name.