Mumbai: From being portrayed as a soft-spoken chief in a loincloth to going through questions over a video that allegedly confirmed him courting a trans lady, NCP minister Narhari Jirwal’s political journey has taken dramatic turns.
The Dindori MLA, who belongs to a tribal neighborhood, has been embroiled in a number of controversies over the previous two months. The newest, which features a video purporting to indicate him in a harmful scenario with a trans individual in a room on the MLA’s official residence, has intensified requires his resignation from opposition events.
The controversy comes at a time when the Ashok Khalat case has already put the ruling alliance underneath scrutiny. NCP chief Rupali Chakankar needed to resign as state girls’s fee chairperson over her alleged relationship with Kalat.
Mr Kalat, who heads a Singnar-based temple belief, claimed to be an astrologer. He was arrested by Nashik police earlier this week after a lady accused him of blackmailing her and repeatedly raping her over a two-year interval. Chakankar’s relationship with him was uncovered after her photos with Kalat went viral on-line.
In opposition to this backdrop, strain is mounting on Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar to sack Mr Jirwal, with opposition leaders describing the alleged conduct as “obscene and unethical”.
Zirwal, the state’s Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) minister, was additionally controversially arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) final month on suspicion of accepting bribes from officers within the division. Though no direct reference to Zirwal was established, the episode aroused criticism and was seen as a warning signal. Now, after the video has been leaked on-line, opposition events have stepped up their assaults, calling the minister’s actions a “stain on the lives of the folks” and citing the “ethical decline” in politics in Maharashtra.
NCP MLC Amol Mitkari rushed to Jirwal’s protection and claimed that the video, which was allegedly recorded five-six months in the past, surfaced solely after the Kalat challenge turned a political flashpoint. Mitkali known as it a conspiracy and wrote to X that the video was geared toward “defaming a easy and simple man” and distracting from different controversies. “It is a lure and a conspiracy to malign a easy and trustworthy individual. Simply because the Ashok Kalat challenge was rising, this can be a distraction… It’s nothing however ugly politics,” he stated.
Why is Jirwal Saheb’s video, which was not launched 6-7 months in the past, immediately launched now after we know that some folks’s spiritual hyperlinks with Bondhu Baba are coming to gentle?
– come. Amol Godavari Ramakrishna Mitkari (@amolmitkari22) March 26, 2026
Dindori tribal chief
Jirwal belongs to Dindori tribal district of Nashik and has been elected MLA 4 instances. Political analyst Abhay Deshpande stated Jirwal might not be probably the most distinguished tribal chief in Maharashtra, however he stays an necessary determine locally.
“Even within the ACB case, he was acquitted on the bottom that he’s a tribal chief… If he had been eliminated instantly, it might have led to allegations of get together break up. That is why the BJP protected him. However this argument doesn’t bode properly for the federal government. Some motion could also be taken on this matter as properly, however when and the way stays to be seen,” Deshpande stated.
“Given the absence of Ajit Pawar and the opposition’s claims that the Bharatiya Janata Occasion is making an attempt to finish Pawar’s get together, the prime minister will deal with this calmly. In two years, two ministers have already needed to resign. For a authorities with such a majority, this doesn’t bode properly,” he added.
From humble beginnings to state cupboard
Narhari Jirwal was born right into a modest household. His political journey started within the Eighties when he began following former Janata Dal MP Haribau Mahale. He entered grassroots politics via the gram panchayat and have become the village sarpanch. Thereafter, he served twice as a member of the Panchayat Samiti. First it was a Janata Dal ticket after which a Congress ticket.
Jirwal, a supporter of Ajit Pawar, joined the Nationalist Congress Occasion after its formation in 1999. He regularly emerged as one of many necessary tribal faces of the Nashik belt. In 2019, when Ajit Pawar took oath within the early morning with Devendra Fadnavis, Jirwal was one of many MLAs who adopted him until Raj Bhawan. Nevertheless, he returned to the Sharad Pawar camp the identical evening and stated he couldn’t betray the individual he considers to be like a father determine to him.
He was first elected as an MLA in 2004. He misplaced the 2009 election by simply 149 votes, however returned to parliament in 2014 and has been profitable ever since.
Mr. Jirwal turned the vice-chairman through the Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities. After Congress chief Nana Patole stepped down as speaker in 2021, Jirwal additionally began discharging the tasks of speaker.
He got here again into the limelight in 2022 when Eknath Shinde and insurgent MLAs toppled the MVA authorities. After the insurrection, Mr. Jirwal issued disqualification notices to Mr. Shinde and 15 different MLAs.
Nevertheless, when Ajit Pawar break up from the NCP in 2023, Jirwal supported him and joined the Mahayuti authorities. To appease voters, he staged protests over problems with tribal quotas and conscription. In September 2024, he introduced an indefinite sit-in on the outskirts of Mantralaya and wrote a letter to the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. A month later, he and different tribal leaders jumped from the third ground of the secretariat into a security internet throughout a protest. “I’m an adivasi first, an MLA and vice-chairman second,” Jirwal stated.
Throughout the 2024 meeting elections, when there have been indications that the Shiv Sena (Shinde) may subject a candidate, Jirwal strongly advocated for re-nomination from Dindori. “There are 72 meeting seats in Maharashtra, the place tribals make up 0-20 per cent of the voters. If folks see me as a pacesetter who has labored for them, I can affect these voters. I understand how a lot it takes to alter an election outcome. I as soon as misplaced by a margin of simply 149 votes,” he stated.
He was finally given the ticket and later turned Minister of Meals and Drug Administration (FDA).
earlier controversy
Earlier this yr, the ACB had arrested an FDA official who allegedly took a bribe of Rs 35,000 in Mantralaya. The clerk, Rajendra Derangi, allegedly demanded cash from the complainant who was looking for reinstatement of his medical license. Mr. Jirwal later stated he would give up if he had any ties to him.
“What occurred is critical. The defendant should face the implications…You all know my actions. I cannot take pleasure in such issues. If my connection is confirmed, I’ll give up,” he instructed reporters.
Regardless of opposition criticism, the Mahayuti authorities took no motion on the time and the controversy regularly subsided.
A brand new dialogue about video
However after the video went viral, opposition leaders went on the offensive once more. Congress leaders known as it a “clear instance of ethical decadence” in Maharashtra politics and demanded motion. Activist Anjali Damania stated senior ministers ought to preserve civility and known as for a radical investigation, however AAP leaders questioned the shortage of motion towards him.
Nevertheless, Mitkari claimed that Jirwal was focused for supporting Sunetra Pawar and hinting at a merger of the 2 NCP factions.
To this point, no senior authorities official has publicly known as for Zirwal’s resignation. Furthermore, earlier, when the bribery controversy surfaced, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had stated that no proof had been discovered towards him.
Mr. Jirwal has denied any wrongdoing and instructed a Marathi information channel that the footage was manipulated. “It is a framed video and it was leaked solely for the aim of blackmail…Nobody is asking for my resignation,” he stated, though he acknowledged that he had recognized the transperson for about 5 years.
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
Additionally learn: ‘Focus in your get together’: NCP rejects Rohit Pawar’s declare of insider bid to wrest energy from Sunetra
