Charges against Mahayuti candidates

Ravindra Waikar

Constituency: Mumbai North West llegatio ons: Somaiya alleged last year that Waikar, who was then a coonfidant of Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, used his cloutt to obtain permission to construct a five-star hotel in Jogeshwwari on a piece of land that the BMC had reserved for a public ggarden. The EOW and ED both filed cases in the matter and recorded Waikar’s statements several times. In February this year, thee BMC did a U-turn and said it would reconsider Waikar’s idea of constructing a hotel on the plot. Since the BMC was the compplainant in the EOW’S case, the agency had no option but to cclose it. In March, Waikar joined the Shinde-led Sena and bbagged a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections.

Yamini Jadhav

Constituency: Mumbai South Allegations: In March 2022, Somaiya accused the undivided Shivhiv Sesena s leader Yashwant Jadhav and his wife, MLA Yamini Jadhav, of being involved in a ₹1,000 crore related to buying 36 old buildings under the pagdi system in Mumbai in the previous two years. Jadhav was the head of the BMC’S standing committee, which approves all proposals involving expenditure of over ₹50 lakh. The ED also carried out searches at Yashwant Jadhav’s residence and other properties in a case of alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations. The income tax department has also investigated allegations of discrepancies in the election affidavit of Yamini Jadhav for the 2019 assembly polls. The Jadhavs eventually joined the Shinde Sena.

Sunil Tatkare

Constituency: Raigad Allegations: Somaiya had declared in 2016 that both Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare would be jailed for their involvement in the ₹35,000 crore irrigation scam, which dates back to 1999. He alleged they had floated over 300 companies that were used to hide irrigation kickbacks worth ₹800 crore. The Maharashtra ACB investigated the allegations and gave a clean chit to Pawar in 2019. Tatkare was named in the chargesheet filed in 2017 but wasn’t called an accused. The ACB, however, said that Tatkare hadn’t got a clean chit and its investigation into his role is not over. It is not clear whether he is out of the woods yet.

Sunetra Pawar

Constituency: Baramati Allegations: The EOW recently gave a clean chit to deputyty chief minister Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, and nephew Rohit Pawar in the ₹25,000 crore Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank scam, which dates back to 2019. Back then, Ajit Pawar was with the undivided NCP, which was in an alliance withith theth Congressc and th undivided Shiv Sena.

The allegation was that the bank’s board ofo directors sold mortgaged sugar factories at throwaw way prices t their relatives and close aides. The EOW, h owever, sai after its investigation that Sunetra had re signed as director of a company called Jay Agrotech two years before it loaned money to Jarandeshwar Sugars Mill which was linked with Ajit and accused of money laundering. Ajit Pawar led a rebellion in th he NC last year, split the party and got his factio on join the Mahayuti.

Narayan Rane

Constituency: Ratnagiri-sindhudurg indhudurg Allegations: In 2016, Somaiyya had accused Rane, who was with the Congress back thenn, of money laundering to the tune of ₹300 crore. Somaiya had written to the ED seeking an investigation into the companies run by Rane and his family. He alleged thatt Rane routed money from tax heavens through these companies towards an under-construction luxury residential project in central Mumbai. The ED conducted a preliminary enquiry into the alleged charges. Rane resigned from the Congress in 2017, before joining the BJP in 2019.

“One should understand these elections are for choosing the prime minister and we want to make Narendra Modi the PM again. The candidates are just a vehicle to make Modi the PM.” —KIRIT SOMAIYA,

BJP leader