Who Is Manikrao Kokate: 5-Time MLA, Now At Centre Of Political Storm

NDTV

5 days ago

Maharashtra's Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate is facing mounting political pressure and public criticism after two separate incidents this week. A viral video allegedly showing Mr Kokate playing a mobile card game during a legislative session, followed by his controversial remarks calling the state government a "beggar", has drawn sharp rebuke from opposition leaders.
The twin controversies have put pressure on the ruling alliance, particularly the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which Mr Kokate belongs to. The party does not endorse Mr Kokate's conduct, and a disciplinary action may follow, senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare said.
Who Is Manikrao Kokate?
Manikrao Shivaji Kokate was born on September 26, 1957, in Somthana village, Sinnar, in Nashik, Maharashtra. He holds an LLB degree from the University of Pune.
A seasoned politician with a career spanning over three decades, Mr Kokate has represented five different political parties: Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena, BJP, and now NCP (Ajit Pawar), while maintaining a stronghold on the Sinnar Assembly Constituency, which he has won five times.
He began his political career as a student activist with the NSUI. He gained early recognition by serving in local governance roles such as Chairman of the Sinnar Panchayat Samiti and President of the Nashik Zilla Parishad. He joined the Congress Party at a young age.
After being denied a ticket by the newly formed NCP in 1999, he joined the Shiv Sena and won his first assembly election from Sinnar. He retained the seat in 2004. When Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane left the party to join Congress, Mr Kokate followed and rejoined the INC, winning the 2009 election from Sinnar on a Congress ticket.
Ahead of the 2014 assembly elections, he switched to the BJP, but lost to Shiv Sena's Rajabhau Waje. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he ran as an Independent from Nashik but again lost to a Shiv Sena candidate.
Later in 2019, Mr Kokate returned to the NCP and won the Sinnar Assembly seat for the fourth time. In the 2024 elections, now contesting from Ajit Pawar's NCP, he won (for the fifth time) against Uday Sangale of Sharad Pawar's NCP, with a margin of over 1.38 lakh. He was subsequently appointed the Agriculture Minister in the Maharashtra government.
In February 2025, a Nashik court convicted Mr Kokate and his brother in a 1995 cheating and forgery case, involving the misuse of flats under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) housing quota. The court sentenced both to two years in jail and fined them Rs 50,000 each. Mr Kokate appealed the decision, and the sessions court granted a stay on the conviction and sentence, allowing him to retain his position as an MLA.
Last week, a video clip surfaced showing Mr Kokate allegedly playing Junglee Rummy on his mobile phone during a legislative session on tribal dairy welfare. He denied the allegation, saying that the video was misleading and that he was only trying to close a YouTube pop-up ad, not playing a game.
Shortly after, Mr Kokate stirred fresh outrage when he said, "The government is the beggar, not the farmers," while addressing irregularities in the Rs 1 crop insurance scheme. He later explained that over 5.5 lakh bogus applications had been received under the scheme, which were immediately cancelled during his tenure.