Rajesh Kshirsagar walks into a political trap

The Shiv Sena MLA has chosen confrontation over the Shaktipeeth Expressway risking political isolation Kolhapur: Shiv Sena MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar’s aggressive support to the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway has brought him face-to-face with former MP Raju Shetti. But the political fallout has not stopped there. In quick succession, he has taken on Congress leader Satej Patil, questioned the position of fellow Mahayuti legislator Chandradip Narake and criticised his own party colleague, Public...

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Rajesh Kshirsagar walks into a political trap

The Shiv Sena MLA has chosen confrontation over the Shaktipeeth Expressway risking political isolation Kolhapur: Shiv Sena MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar’s aggressive support to the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway has brought him face-to-face with former MP Raju Shetti. But the political fallout has not stopped there. In quick succession, he has taken on Congress leader Satej Patil, questioned the position of fellow Mahayuti legislator Chandradip Narake and criticised his own party colleague, Public Health Minister and Kolhapur Guardian Minister Prakash Abitkar. That is a lot of political fronts for one MLA to manage simultaneously. The immediate question, therefore, is not whether Kshirsagar has the courage to fight. He clearly does. The more important question is whether he has calculated the political cost of fighting everyone at once. The Shaktipeeth Expressway has become one of the most contentious political issues in Kolhapur district. Raju Shetti has turned the proposed acquisition of agricultural land into a farmers’ rights issue and has built a sustained campaign around it. His politics has always thrived on confrontation. His rise from the sugarcane farmers’ movement to the Assembly and then the Lok Sabha was built on his ability to convert farmers’ grievances into political mobilisation. Kshirsagar has now chosen to meet that politics head-on. His controversial warning against Shetti, in response to the latter’s aggressive rhetoric on land acquisition, transformed a policy disagreement into a personal political duel. Supporters of both sides have since taken the confrontation to the streets. This is precisely where political calculation becomes important. Supporting a flagship project backed by the Chief Minister can certainly send a message to the leadership in Mumbai. Kshirsagar is willing to stand by the government when the going gets difficult. But the same position can create political liabilities at home, particularly when the project affects constituencies where local MLAs are under pressure from farmers. Different Question Kshirsagar’s decision to attack Satej Patil raises a different question. Patil remains one of the most influential political figures in Kolhapur. Suggesting that he may struggle to win the next Assembly election is not routine political criticism. It is an open challenge. That challenge may energise Kshirsagar’s supporters. It may also consolidate his position among those within the ruling establishment who see Patil as a principal political adversary. But there is a danger in confusing political visibility with political strength. Every additional opponent creates another front that has to be managed during an election. And Kshirsagar has already opened several. The most politically revealing part of Kshirsagar’s criticism of Chandradip Narake and Prakash Abitkar. Narake represents a constituency through which the Shaktipeeth project passes. His opposition, therefore, has an obvious electoral logic: he has to respond to the concerns of his voters. Kshirsagar’s criticism of Narake puts him in a difficult position. He is effectively asking another ruling-party MLA to subordinate constituency politics to the government’s larger project. Then came the attack on Abitkar. To publicly accuse the party’s Kolhapur Guardian Minister of failing to strengthen the organisation amounts to washing the party’s dirty linen in public. Ministerial Ambition There is another possible explanation for Kshirsagar’s increasingly combative posture: the unresolved question of ministerial ambition. A three-time MLA would naturally expect that electoral experience and political seniority might eventually translate into a Cabinet berth. Instead, when the opportunity came, Eknath Shinde chose Prakash Abitkar and gave him an important Cabinet portfolio. Kshirsagar was left outside the ministry. His present position on the State Planning Board gives him a role, but it is not the same political currency as a Cabinet berth. It would be simplistic to suggest that every recent statement is merely an expression of that disappointment. But it would be equally naïve to ignore the possibility that political frustration has influenced his increasingly assertive posture. The Shaktipeeth issue may simply have provided the trigger. Kshirsagar should also be looking closely at the arithmetic of Kolhapur North. The constituency has a history of surprising political outcomes. Its old-city peth culture is blunt, politically conscious and capable of producing results that defy conventional calculations. The last Assembly election demonstrated this dramatically. Madhurimaraje Chhatrapati’s withdrawal as the Congress candidate left the Opposition scrambling just weeks before polling. Satej Patil then backed municipal corporator Rajesh Latkar, who entered the contest with barely 15 days to campaign. Yet Latkar secured nearly 81,000 votes. Kshirsagar won by around 23,000 votes, but the number that should concern his camp is not merely his winning margin.

MVA accuses Mahayuti of ‘banditry, betrayal’

Quaid Najmi
Jul 13
3 min read

Mumbai: The simmering political storm over the Mahayuti government’s ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladi Bahin Yojana’ intensified with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) taking the recent CAG Report’s cautionary signals on state finances, to question if the state regime is a ‘gang of bandits’.

State Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) National Spokesperson Clyde Crasto and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut attacking the government over the CAG revelations pointing to Rs 3,541-cr excess spending plus significant shortcomings in financial management, budget estimation and expenditure control.

Sapkal slammed the Mahayuti for allegedly committing a financial fraud of Rs 3,500-cr, while Crasto termed the removal of 92-lakh women beneficiaries as ‘betrayal’ and Raut accusing that the scheme was launched only to collect the votes of ‘Ladki Bahin’ in the 2024 Assembly elections.

The Congress chief reiterated that a potential welfare scheme degenerated into another vehicle for corruption as the “step-brothers in power have looted their own beloved sisters”. “After looting every sector of the government, they have plundered the ‘Ladmi Bahin’ scheme… Is this a government or a gang of bandits,” demanded Sapkal sharply.

Various Reasons

Terming the government’s move to delete 38 pc (92 lakh) ‘Ladki Bahins’ from the scheme for various reasons as ‘fooling’ the women of Maharashtra to grab their votes. “They are citing different excuses for this act… Then how were they eligible before the elections, they took the votes, gave them money for so long, and now they are betraying them,” said an irked Crasto.

Sapkal pointed out how, as per the CAG Report, an amount of Rs. 29,693-cr was budgeted for the scheme, but the government spent over Rs 3,500-cr beyond the sanctioned amount without maintaining proper records or accounts, and unsolicited withdrawals.

Schemes Sacrificed

“Spending on housing had fallen by 54 pc, and expenditure on water supply-sanitation slashed by nearly 32 pc. The CAG had cautioned against prioritizing the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme at the cost of other critical infrastructure projects that could hit long-term sustainability of public services,” Sapkal pointed out.

He further stated that an amount of Rs 3,490-cro intended for the ‘Lek Ladki’ scheme (beloved daughters, launched in Oct. 2023) from economically backward families was allegedly diverted to ‘Ladki Bahin’, and earlier funds from the Social Justice Department were also rerouted.

Raut and other SS (UBT) leaders raised questions on the government’s financial management as the CAG’s findings vindicate their stance over how the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme was launched hastily for reaping a rich electoral harvest in November 2024.

Several NCP (SP) leaders demanded a detailed explanation for the excess expenditure red-flagged by the CAG, deflecting funds from other projects to ‘Ladki Bahin’ and pinning accountability for all such irregularities.

The MVA allies urged the Mahayuti to present a comprehensive report on the scheme and fixing accountability in the legislature while ensuring that genuine beneficiaries are not deprived of the assistance.

Major lapses in fiscal discipline

Among other things, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Report of 2024-2025, pinpointed an excess spend of Rs. 3,541-cr, plus major lapses in fiscal discipline over the flagship ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme.

It said that the Women and Child Development Department spent Rs. 33,237 cr against the sanctioned Rs. 29,693-cr – or, Rs. 3,541-cr extra – without providing a proper explanation for the overspend.

Announced with great fanfare barely months ahead of the 2024 Assembly polls, the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme promised a monthly dole of Rs 1,500 - with a promise to hike it to Rs 2,100 per month – to eligible women, if the Mahayuti was returned to power.

It emerged the Mahayuti’s winning initiative, helped strengthen its support among the women, especially rural voters and enabled the coalition romp home – barely six months after it was badly mauled in the Parliament elections of 2024.