Mumbai: Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar has lengthy been one of many few Bharatiya Janata Occasion billionaires in Satara, a area dominated by political heavyweights the place the celebration has struggled to achieve a foothold. However the former lawmaker has turn out to be embroiled in controversy over the suicide of a 28-year-old authorities physician final week, with opposition events and even some within the ruling coalition questioning her position in pressuring her.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis got here clear to Nimbalkar on Sunday, however the controversy threatens the BJP’s rigorously cultivated presence within the NCP’s conventional strongholds.
Final week, a political storm erupted when a health care provider belonging to the state’s Beed district was discovered hanging in a resort room in Satara’s Paltan taluka. A notice scrawled on her palm mentioned {that a} police lieutenant had raped her a number of occasions and that she had been sexually harassed by her landlord’s son. Each males had been arrested.
However what dragged Nimbalkar into the fray was a letter purportedly written by a health care provider earlier this yr.
In it, the physician mentioned he was pressured by a former lawmaker to change the medical reviews of these arrested. The opposition celebration nominated Nimbalkar as its former lawmaker.
Within the letter, the physician wrote about threats and mock from legislation enforcement officers concerning Bede’s origins. Beed was within the headlines final yr following complaints in regards to the homicide of a sarpanch and extortion from a windmill energy plant there.
Ambadas Dambe, a former MLC from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, posted excerpts of a letter on X alleging Nimbalkar’s involvement in blackmail. it mentioned The physician advisable hospitalization for the defendant, who had hypertension. Nonetheless, the letter states that Mr. Nimbalkar’s two private assistants approached him. I requested her to talk to a former member of Congress..
Dumbu mentioned Nimbalkar had complained to the physician police that the accused had not declared her wholesome as she was from Beed. The Shiv Sena chief additionally mentioned that the names of the accused talked about within the case are talked about within the FIR filed by a non-public firm belonging to Nimbalkar.
There are additionally doubts throughout the ruling Mahayuti Alliance.
Dhananjay Munde, a former minister from Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Occasion (NCP), alleged that private secretaries of “former Congress MPs” had been concerned.
Suresh Das, a BJP MLA representing Ashti constituency in Beed, mentioned the probe would discover out whether or not the previous MP or his aides had exerted political stress on the physician a day earlier than Fadnavis got here clear to Nimbalkar. “If they’re discovered to be accountable, they need to be named defendants on this case,” Das mentioned.
Opposition chief Rahul Gandhi of the Congress known as the physician’s dying an “institutional homicide” in Sunday’s X-Publish.
“The very authorities tasked with defending the general public from criminals dedicated probably the most heinous crime of rape and exploitation towards this harmless girl. In line with reviews, some influential individuals related to the Bharatiya Janata Occasion additionally tried to stress her into corruption. That is probably the most despicable instance of a criminally protected ideology,” he wrote.
Protection of Fadnavis
At an occasion organized by Nimbalkar on Sunday, CM Fadnavis spoke in Paltan and clearly expressed help for the previous Bharatiya Janata Occasion MP.
“Politics is combined into every part nowadays and we’re seeing this totally reprehensible try on this case. For no purpose, the names of Ranjit Dada and Sachin Patil (Paltan MLA) have been dragged into this case. Maharashtra is aware of about Deva Bhau. Even when I had any doubt, I might have scrapped the plan and never come right here,” he mentioned.
The Prime Minister added that the physician’s dying might be completely investigated and people accountable might be delivered to justice.
Additionally learn: Feminine physician commits suicide: Pankaja Munde meets family in Beed, vows to battle for justice
Nimbalkar additionally denied any wrongdoing and known as the allegations “petty politics”.
“I even have two daughters. It makes us really feel horrible when our names are related to such an abhorrent incident…If my coronary heart is clear, I am not afraid of anybody,” he mentioned at an occasion on Sunday.
Why the BJP wants Nimbalkar
Fadnavis’ swift protection could also be rooted in political calculations.
Nimbalkar, who joined the BJP from the Congress in 2019, was pivotal within the celebration establishing its presence in Paltan and Mann-in-Satara districts.
“Satara is a spot with too many political heavyweights and the BJP would not have a lot of a presence there. Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar is the one main face of the celebration within the area and with native physique elections developing, the BJP would not need an upset anytime quickly. That could be why Fadnavis rushed to subject him,” mentioned Nitin Birmal, a Pune-based political analyst. Polls to city native our bodies, gram panchayats and zilla parishads might be held throughout the state within the coming months.
Nimbalkar handed over Mhada (Patriarchate), an NCP stronghold, in 2019. Sharad Pawar has beforehand represented the Bharatiya Janata Occasion and received. Nonetheless, in final yr’s Lok Sabha elections, it misplaced to Sharad Pawar-led NCP by a margin of over 120,000 votes.
historic pedigree
Nimbalkar’s political significance stems partially from his surname.
The Naik Nimbalkar household is without doubt one of the oldest Maratha households in Maharashtra. They dominated the Paltans and had relations with the Chhatrapati of Satara beneath the Maratha Empire. Saibai, the primary spouse of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, belonged to the Nimbalkar dynasty.
Malojiraj Naik Nimbalkar, the final ruler of Paltan earlier than its accession to India, was then a minister in Morarji Desai’s cupboard of Bombay state. The present Mantralaya State Secretariat is believed to have been constructed when Mr Marojiraj was the Minister of Public Works and Improvement (Individuals with Disabilities).
Ranjitsingh is the son of Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar, who was elected as Satara MP in 1996 in Shiv Sena elections.
Ranjitsingh grew up within the Congress and served because the Satara district celebration president earlier than switching to the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in 2019. That call rapidly paid off with a win in 2019.
Nonetheless, Nimbalkar’s identify just isn’t unified in political circles.
Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, Marajraje’s grandson and a direct descendant of the Paltan rulers, is a long-time political opponent of Ranjitsin. Ramraje entered politics in 1991 because the council president and later turned an unbiased MLA in 1995. When Sharad Pawar fashioned the NCP in 1999, Ramraje joined him. He’s at the moment a part of Ajit Pawar’s NCP.
The battle between the 2 branches of the household is extraordinarily fierce. Though Ajit Pawar’s NCP is an ally of the BJP, Mr. Ramraje didn’t marketing campaign for Ranjitsin in final yr’s Lok Sabha elections. There have been additionally clashes between the 2 factions within the run-up to final yr’s parliamentary elections.
On Saturday, Ramraje issued a peaceful assertion to reporters as opposition events questioned Ranjitsine’s involvement within the physician’s dying.
“This incident has undoubtedly defamed Paltan. Why did the incident occur? Who induced it to occur? It is usually attainable that somebody is making use of stress. With fashionable technological aids like CDR (Name Information Recording) it can quickly be revealed. I don’t wish to say extra about it as I place confidence in Fadnavis’ intelligence. I’ll communicate on the applicable time.”
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
