NCP (AJIT PAWAR FACTION)

AJIT PAWAR, 64

Deputy chief minister in the Congress-ncp government till 2014 and later in the MVA government, Ajit Pawar was on the radar of investigation agencies for his alleged involvement in the state cooperative bank and money laundering scams. In October 2021 Income Tax (I-T) department raided residences of his three sisters in connection with the takeover of Jarandeshwar Co-operative Sugar Factory and alleged irregularities. ED in July 2021 also attached over ₹65 crore worth of land, building, plant and machinery of their sugar mill at Chimangaon-koregaon in Satara under the anti-money laundering law. In January this year Ajit Pawar got a clean chit in the alleged state cooperative bank scam in which loans were given to the various cooperative sugar factories, textile mills etc after Mumbai Economic Offence Wing (EOW) submitted a closure report.

CHHAGAN BHUJBAL, 76

Chhagan Bhujbal has been the face of OBCS in the NCP and a close aide of Sharad Pawar. During his stint as PWD minister Bhujbal was targeted by the opposition over alleged corruption in the construction of New Maharashtra Sadan, state government’s guest house and office in New Delhi. After the Devendra Fadnavis government came to power in 2014 Bhujbal and his nephew, former MP Sameer Bhujbal, were arrested over charges of money laundering by ED. He did time for two years from March 2016, and was granted bail in May 2018. There are also allegations of Bhujbal accepting kickbacks through firms belonging to his relatives and employees. The agency claimed that a total of ₹857 crore was laundered, but it managed to attach properties worth ₹156 crore only.

DILIP WALSEPATIL, 67

Son of former MLA Dattatray Walse-patil, Dilip Walse-patil began his political career as Sharad Pawar’s personal assistant. He was cabinet minister from 1999 to 2009 and from 2019 to June 2022. He again became a minister in July 2023 after the split in NCP under the leadership of Ajit Pawar. In November 2021 I-T department conducted raids on Parag Dairy and business establishments of his close friend Devendra Shah. Since then, BJP has kept the pressure on Walse-patil.

HASAN MUSHRIF, 69

Hasan Mushrif, MLA from Kagal, Kolhapur, has been a staunch Sharad Pawar supporter, and held various ministries in the CongressNCP and MVA governments. In July 2019, BJP state president Chandrakant Patil publicly invited Mushrif to join the BJP, which the latter declined, saying he would never leave Sharad Pawar’s side. Ten days later, I-T raids were conducted on his house but Mushrif did not relent. Subsequently, during the MVA rule, ED conducted raids on him after allegations of corruption and money laundering in a sugar factory by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. In March and April of 2023 central agencies initiated action against him and ED summoned him for an inquiry. Mushrif joined Ajit Pawar to split NCP in June last year; he is a minister in the three-party government.

DHANANJAY MUNDE, 48

Dhananjay Munde, the nephew of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, is now the state agriculture minister in the Shiv SENA-BJP-NCP government. During his tenure as the social justice minister in the MVA government, Munde courted controversy over his relationship with Karuna Sharma, a political aspirant, who claimed that he was the father of her two children. Subsequently, Renu, her sister also alleged that Munde had a relationship with her as well but she was booked on the charge of extortion from two political leaders with threats of defamation, in 2021.