MUMBAI: Controversy in Maharashtra over appointment of 12 MLC refuses to die. Now, it has taken a twist with NCP deciding to drop farmer leader Raju Shetti’s name from the list and bring in NCP Hemant Takale, a close aide of party chief Sharad Pawar.
Raju Shetti, a former Lok Sabha MP and president of Swabhimani Shetkari Sangthan, one of the alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government criticised NCP after it merged that his name was dropped. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Congress Minister Balasaheb Thorat met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and informed him of the change in the list.
Sources said NCP leader Ajit Pawar was told that Raju Shetti, who lost the Lok Sabha election in 2019 cannot be nominated for MLC through governor’s quota. The governor had also expressed displeasure over the inclusion of NCP leader Eknath Khadse, citing Enforcement Directorate probe against him. Earlier, Ajit Pawar hinted that the party may drop the name of Raju Shetti from the MLC list. He said, as per some legal point, if a person has lost an elections recently, he cannot be appointed as MLC.