Maharashtra Politics Heats Up Amid Speculation Of Crossovers

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With a huge majority on the Mahayuti side and the Opposition making efforts to establish itself, the political atmosphere of Maharashtra is charged with talk of crossovers.

While a few statements by Jayant Patil, the state unit chief of Sharad Pawar-led NCP, fueled talks of his possible switchover to the BJP, former MPCC chief Nana Patole extended invites to two Deputy Chief Ministers Ekanth Shinde and Ajit Pawar to join Congress for rich dividends.

On Saturday, the Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut raised the pitch by claiming that Eknath Shinde wanted to join the Congress in the past.

Raut’s statement provided fuel to the electronic and social media. But the Sena Rajya Sabha member did not reveal the day or date Shinde planned to make moves.

Raut took the name of late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patil to elaborate his point. “I know what was going on. Ahmed Patel is not around now, and hence I don’t want to say anything more because he is not there to substantiate this,” Raut said while talking to media persons.

Patel, who served as the political secretary to former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, died on November 25, 2020.

When questioned by the media, Raut redirected the queries to Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who declined to comment. Shinde-led Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske strongly criticised Raut, suggesting his statements were influenced by cannabis. “If Raut was aware of his (Shinde’s) moves, why was Shinde appointed as the group leader of the party and later the minister for urban development,” Mhaske asked.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Nana Patole created a stir when he invited Shinde and Ajit Pawar to join the opposition with a promise of the rotational post of the chief minister.

Raut said nothing was impossible in politics when asked about the offer by Patole. “I am speechless,” he said, adding one more name, BJP senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar, could be there on Patole’s list. Mungantiwar is very upset these days, said Raut. The BJP leader, when asked by the media, was quick to refute the possibility.

In another development, Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLC, Vikram Kale, invited Congress MLA Amit Deshmukh to join his party and take charge as the cultural affairs minister. Amit, son of late Congress stalwart Vilasrao Deshmukh, said a balance was essential in a democratic system.