Samant-fadnavis meeting leads to speculation

MUMBAI: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nilesh Rane’s claims of a “secret meeting” between Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last week have led to political speculations. However, Samant has dismissed the rumours, saying it was an incidental meeting in Ratnagiri, when the two leaders were on a tour to assess the damage due to cyclone Tauktae in Konkan region.

Rane, the elder son of former chief minister and Sena betenoire Narayan Rane, tweeted that Samant and his brother wanted to meet Fadnavis during the latter’s tour to Ratnagiri last week. “The two somehow reached saheb’s (Fadnavis’) room; unwilling to meet, still Devendra ji met with them,” Rane tweeted, setting the tongues wagging in the political circles. Samant, who is state higher and technical education minister, said it was not a closed-door meeting as Rane had claimed and that he met Fadnavis while “200 others” were present at the guest house in Ratnagiri.

Samant said this was an attempt to “destabilize” his political career but it will not “diminish” the trust Sena chief and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray have in him. He said he does not pay heed to the claims made by the Ranes, “who have been rejected by the people of Konkan twice”.

The minister, who hails from Ratnagiri district, said he met Fadnavis as the former CM was at the same guesthouse and it was merely to welcome him in his district.

“Why would I meet in front of 200 people? This incident occurred six days ago when I was on tour of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Former chief minister [Fadnavis] came to the guesthouse in Ratnagiri where I was staying. As per the political culture of Maharashtra, if somebody senior like a former CM or opposition leader has come to the district, it is my duty to welcome him, which I did. I did not meet him alone. Those who were present there included BJP leaders Pravin Darekar, Ravindra Chavan, and Prasad Lad. I came to the guesthouse before he (Fadnavis) arrived and if I met him incidentally and exchanged greetings, I do not think I have committed any crime,” Samant clarified on Tuesday.

Samant, who came to the Shiv Sena from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2014, is one of the key leaders from Konkan region, which is Sena’s stronghold. He is considered close to the Thackerays and was chosen to be a minister in 2019, overlooking two leaders from Konkan, including former minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar, and former minister in Congress-ncp government Bhaskar Jadhav, who joined the Sena from NCP in 2019.

The minister also dismissed rumours around “operation Lotus” (BJP’S alleged plan to bring down a government) , saying that he does not need to jump ship. “If somebody thinks that by tweeting such things, the trust that Uddhav ji and Aaditya ji have in me will diminish, it is very immature of them. There is no need for operation Lotus because a Shiv Sena chief minister will remain in the chair in future as well. Our Maha Vikas Aghadi is strong. Therefore, I don’t need to look at this operation lotus of theirs.”

Later, Rane in a video tweet said that Samant could not have denied meeting Fadnavis and is now “in a fix” to save his ministership. “What culture are you talking about? Many former chief ministers come to Ratnagiri, you don’t go to meet them. … You know that BJP will come to power the next time, so you have planted a seed so that you can jump the ship when it is time,” Rane said.