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हिन्दी 
Within just one week, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has inducted two former MLAs and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders in Ratnagiri district – Rajan Salvi and Subhash Bane – to his party. He is also likely to get a third, Ganpat Kadam, in the next few days. Shinde’s aides say he is trying to kill two birds with one stone: Deal a severe blow to Thackeray in the only district of Konkan where Sena (UBT) had a better chance of revival as well as rein in Shinde’s party colleague, industries minister Uday Samant.
Among the districts in Konkan, Ratnagiri has always stood by the Thackerays even when the party was not doing well. Thackeray was banking on Ratnagiri to revive his party. Hence, the departure of three former MLAs comes as a severe setback to him.
Second, Shinde wants to cut his party colleague Samant to size in Ratnagiri. A resourceful Uday Samant and his brother Kiran are MLAs from two adjoining constituencies in Ratnagiri. It is not just a coincidence that this is happening less than a month after the Opposition alleged that BJP was cultivating Samant to split Shinde’s party if needed. According to Shinde’s aides, he wanted to send a clear message to the party that he is in charge. He was also aware that a top BJP leader in the state was in touch with Samant when Shinde had kept BJP guessing over accepting deputy chief minister’s post during the formation of the government. Samant’s ambition has clearly not gone down well with Shinde.
Dhas’s grudge on ‘info leak’
From a hero leading the campaign to seek justice for a slain sarpanch to a “betrayer”, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has seen a sudden change in his public image. It was Dhas who vociferously raised the issue of the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a sarpanch from Massajog village in Beed district and made a series of allegations against local strongman Walmik Karad and kept demanding action against NCP minister Dhananjay Munde. Now, Dhas is facing a backlash as it came to light that he met Munde twice in a fortnight. To make it worse, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the duo were together at his house for over four hours. Activists and opposition parties are accusing Dhas of betraying the Deshmukh family. An irked Dhas is now publicly expressing anguish—over who leaked the news about his meeting with Munde. He smells a conspiracy and has alleged that a “big leader” from Beed was behind it.
*When Congress sprang a surprise
When Harshwardhan Sapkal’s name started doing the rounds as a possible successor to state Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesday, several Congress leaders themselves were taken by surprise. Even though most prominent leaders had refused to take up the responsibility of state Congress president’s post, Sapkal’s selection still came as a surprise. Sapkal was never active in any major activity of state Congress although he was handling different responsibilities in All India Congress Committee. It is being said that a top leader, who has significant influence in the AICC, was instrumental in his selection.
*Jadhav’s outburst
There was unease in the Thackeray faction as its lone MLA from Konkan Bhaskar Jadhav spoke to the media on Saturday implying that he was not happy with the way things are being handled in the party. Jadhav, who is group leader of the party in the assembly, also indicated that he was unhappy that enough opportunities were not coming his way. A senior party leader said Jadhav’s outburst has something to do with the possibility that Shiv Sena (UBT) may get the post of opposition leader in the assembly. Since no opposition party got the requisite number of seats, there is no opposition leader in the assembly. With Thackerays warming up to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the latter is likely to request Speaker Rahul Narwekar to give the post to Shiv Sena (UBT), which has highest MLAs (20) among three opposition parties. If it happens, three legislators whose names are being considered are: Jadhav, Sunil Prabhu and Aaditya Thackeray. It probably explains why Jadhav is sending a subtle warning to party leadership.
*Agri min’s faux pas
Agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate has put the government in an embarrassing position. Speaking at a function, he opined that the premium for crop insurance scheme for farmers needs to be increased from current Re 1 to ₹100. It was not his suggestion but the words he used that has kicked up a controversy. “Even beggers don’t accept Re 1 these days and we are giving crop insurance to farmers for Re 1,” he remarked to justify his stand. Kokate is now being slammed by farmers leaders and the Opposition saying he has compared farmers to beggars.
Kokate is learning the hard way that, one has to choose his words carefully, especially in politics.
