Fadnavis sets example, admitted in govt hospital
Setting an example for politicians and bureaucrats, Devendra Fadnavis, former CM and the leader of Opposition in Maharashtra, has decided to be admitted at a state-run hospital in Mumbai after he was tested positive for Covid-19. Several ministers and bureaucrats in the state who has tested coronavirus positive preferred plush private hospitals in Mumbai over government or civic body-run hospitals. However, as a precautionary measure, Fadnavis has also been consulting private hospital doctors. Sources said Fadnavis, also the in-charge of the Bihar Assembly elections for the BJP, is doing well. St George’s hospital is part of the JJ Group of hospitals which is the Maharashtra government’s largest health facility. “I have been working every single day since the lockdown, but now it seems that God wantsme to stop for a while and take a break! I have tested #COVID19 positive and in isolation. Taking all medication & treatment as per the advice of the doctors,” Fadnavis had tweeted.
Khadse’s entry may make NCP ministers nervous
NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s decision to induct estranged BJP leader Eknath Khadse into the party is seen as a message to many OBC leaders that he will no longer rely heavily on them in the future. It is also an indication to his nephew Ajit Pawar that he is still the main face of the NCP and can expand the party without the latter’s consent. Khadse’s entry has also made many ministers in the NCP nervous fearing that he could be given a berth in the Uddhav Thackeray government and for that, one of the NCP ministers has to vacate the seat for the ex-BJP leader. Now, the question is who will reign? Khadse had been the seniormost BJP leader in the state after the demise of Gopinath Munde on June 3, 2014.
Shatrughan begins campaigning for son in Bihar
With his son Luv Sinha taking the electoral plunge from Bankipur assembly seat in Patna, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha said it’s an encouraging trend that youths are entering politics, but made it clear that he is not retiring. The actor wanted to campaign for his son and asked the Congress leadership to provide him a chartered plane for Patna. The Congress, which is in power in Maharashtra, has accepted the requested, said sources. He is in Bihar for poll campaigns.
No-entry for NCP defectors: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has made it clear that he will not allow the defectors, who had joined the BJP before the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Recently, BJP MLA Rana Jagjit Singh, who earlier was with the NCP, wanted to return to his old party, but the party veteran has turned down his request. Another former NCP leader from Dhule wished to come back to the party, but Pawar has refused to entertain him, too. Pawar, however, said he was open to inducting BJP leaders into the NCP, but will not entertain those who have left his party and the joined the saffron camp.
Sudhir Suryawanshi
Our correspondent in Maharashtra suryawanshi.sudhir@gmail.com