The Family Politicians

In the affluent western belt of Maharashtra, the erstwhile princely state town of Phaltan has seen the Nimbalkar family being split vertically. Erstwhile nobility, the two parts of the family has been engaged in a feud over establishing and retaining political supremacy in the area.

The most prominent among them is Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, a former minister who is also the former chairman of the legislative council. A post graduate in science and law, he was known to be a fine cricketer during his college days. Ramraje taught law at the ILS college in Pune but later moved to his hometown to head the Phaltan Education Society where he continued teaching law along with leading the educational institutes.

On one hand is Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar whose son Ranjeetsinh is a former BJP MP from Madha. On the other side are Ramraje and brother Sanjeevraje who heads Govind, the dairy and milk products business.

Ramraje joined politics in 1991 and became chairman of the municipal council. He then contested the assembly election and became an independent MLA in 1995. He supported the Manohar Joshi led Shiv Sena BJP government on the condition of bringing water to drought-prone areas in his district. With his efforts, he played a key role in the Krishna Valley Development Corporation which he led as the vice chairman. He later was appointed as the vice chairman of the state planning commission.

His grandfather Malojiraje Naik-Nimbalkar was the family’s first member in active politics. He was the minister in Morarji Desai’s cabinet and had the portfolios of PWD and irrigation with him. Records show that the construction work of the present day Mantralaya building was executed during Malojiraje’s tenure as the PWD minister in Maharashtra .

The family is connected to politicians by marriage as well. Ramraje’s daughter is married to Rahul Narwekar, Speaker in the Maharashtra Assembly in the outgoing legislature. He began his career as a Shiv Sena corporator from Mumbai but moved to the NCP and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Maval. He then shifted to the BJP and entered the Legislative Assembly and was appointed the speaker in 2023.

Ramraje and Sanjeevraje went with Ajit Pawar when the NCP split last year. Last month, Sanjeevraje, chairman of the NCP in Satara district, returned to Sharad Pawar while his brother has remained with Ajit but has refused to actively campaign for his party.