Pandharpur: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who, as head of the state, has the right to perform 'aarti' at the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur on Ashadhi Ekadashi (on Friday), seems to have made the most of it. With an eye on the forthcoming assembly elections, Fadnavis tried to make politico-religious capital of his visit to the temple town, meeting partymen and those from other parties, to strengthen his party's position in the state. He began this politico-religious tour on July 11, arriving at Solapur, where he was received by Congress legislators Siddharam Mhetre and Bharat Bhalke. After this, he attended an event organised by the market committee, organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Prashant Paricharak.
He had dinner at Paricharak's house and stayed on for a classical music performance by Padmashri Padmaja Phenani-Joglekar. Other notes, of the non-musical kind, too were struck at this event, as the Nationalist Congress Party legislator Babandada Shinde too was an attendee at the recital. Vijaysinh Mohite Patil also attended the programme, with other party workers. On Friday, after the temple ritual, the CM had tea with Kalyanrao Kale, the Congressman recently inducted into the BJP. After getting an earful of demands from Kale, Fadnavis joked that tea had proven to be an expensive affair.
Next on Fadnavis's itinerary was a meeting with the new member of Parliament from Madha, Ranjitsinh Nimbalkar, also a recent entrant into the BJP from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Nimbalkar proclaimed that he had brought back the waters Baramati had forcibly taken. Now this water was being distributed to Sangola, Madha, Pandharpur and those areas where it was needed, claimed Nimbalkar. Next, the CM was taken to Congress MLA Bhalke's residence by the former Congressman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who too was recently inducted into the BJP and the Maharashtra cabinet. At Bhalke's house, Fadnavis met those Congressmen actively in talks with the BJP. Bhalke claimed to have invited the CM in his capacity as the public representative of the area.
However his action provoked speculation which Bhalke The political hijacking of Ashadhi Ekadashi refuted saying, if he had to discuss politics, it would have been done in secret and that too in Mumbai, which has ample space. Interestingly, Paricharak is the legislator who was suspended for one-and-a-half years in 2017, when at a local election rally, he had cast aspersions on the character of the wives of Armymen. His suspension was revoked prior to the Lok Sabha elections. There was a ruckus over this revocation in February and a high-powered committee was expected to present its report before the monsoon session. However, no such report was submitted.
