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Satara’s dynasts hobnob with BJP ahead of Assembly polls
Shivendraraje Bhosale – has already joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); the other two, Satara member of Parliament and Chhatrapati Shivaji’s descendant Udayanraje Bhosale and Maharashtra council chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar are now openly flirting with possibility of joining BJP
Locally, all three “dynasts” from Maharashtra’s Satara district are competing against each other. Politically, they are Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) traditionalists, but are now headed in the direction of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While one out of the prominent descendants of Satara’s erstwhile royalty– Shivendraraje Bhosale – has already joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); the other two, Satara member of Parliament and Chhatrapati Shivaji’s descendant Udayanraje Bhosale and Maharashtra council chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar are now openly flirting with the possibility of joining the BJP.
Udayanraje’s meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday evening sparked speculation about the former exploring the possibility of joining the BJP. Udayaranraje said he met Fadnavis in Mumbai to discuss flood relief efforts in Satara, though sources close to him say he was exploring the chance to switch sides.
Udayanraje was recently elected for the third time from the Satara Lok Sabha seat as NCP member of parliament. If the dynast chooses to switch loyalty, he will have to resign from the membership of Lok Sabha. Presently, Satara under the seat-sharing formula between BJP and Shiv Sena is with the latter. Just before Lol Sabha polls 2019, Uadayanraje had tried to defect to BJP though party chief Sharad Pawar was successful in convincing him to stay back by offering a party ticket to fight elections.
Reacting to Udayanraje’s meeting with Fadnavis, NCP leader Ajit Pawar said, “Udayanraje went to meet CM to discuss flood-related issues as Satara district is one of the regions affected by it. There is nothing wrong with meeting the CM to seek help.”
Earlier this week, speculations were rife about Naik-Nimbalkar’s possible entry into BJP if the party agrees to meet his demand about offering three seats – Wai, Phaltan and Colaba - to his close aides during upcoming assembly elections. Naik-Nimbalkar, the 29th descendant of Phaltan royal family, could not be reached for comment.
The third dynast from Satara, Shivendraraje is already in BJP after he jumped the sides last month. On Tuesday, Shivendraraje too met Fadnavis in Mumbai triggering speculations if he has been trying to prevent his bête noire Udayanraje’s entry into BJP.
In the last few months, a number of senior leaders, who were once close to Sharad Pawar have deserted him and joined either BJP or Shiv Sena. After father-son duo from Mohite Patil family, Pawar received major setback when party’s Mumbai unit chief Sachin Ahir joined Shiv Sena.
