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NDTV
an hour ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Who Is Manikrao Kokate: 5-Time MLA, Now At Centre Of Political Storm
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.
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First Post
2 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Nearly a year after Hasina's exit, stability still eludes Bangladesh
August 5, 2025, marks one year since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought refuge in India, following a wave of violent unrest across Bangladesh that left widespread destruction and countless lives lost. Many in the country had hoped that her departure would bring a return to order and stability. Instead, the situation has deteriorated sharply, with law and order collapsing on multiple fronts. A stark example of this is the recent violence in Gopalganj — a traditional stronghold of the Awami League (AL) and home to a significant Hindu minority, comprising nearly 40 per cent of the population of the area. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The National Citizen Party (NCP), which is believed to enjoy open backing of the ruling dispensation of Muhammad Yunus, in active collaboration with Jammat-e-Islami (JeI) and other communally fanatical parties, resorted to unprovoked violence in attacking the Awami League activists in Gopalganj in an ostensible bid to weaken the AL bastion and demoralise the Hindu population, keeping aloft the communal frenzy. Several people were killed by the security forces, and at the time of writing the column, the city is filled with tension and uneasy calm notwithstanding the imposition of stringent prohibitory orders and security forces resorting to indiscriminate firing resulting in deaths and injuries, and the paramilitary forces and the army are seen in clear visuals protecting the NCP and Jammat activists in the hold of the Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to save them lest their crime be exposed. This spurt of violence in Gopalganj signals that the law and order machinery is still far from satisfactory. Also, according to a prominent Dhaka Daily, Prothom Alo (July 17), the commemorative march marking the July 2024 uprising was planned well in advance by the NCP and its affiliates, and the authorities were obviously indifferent to any wake-up calls or straws in the wind. This also shows complete failure of the intelligence apparatus of the government. Interestingly, the advisor in charge of law and order, Lieutenant General (Retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhary, is not only an army veteran but also headed the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now renamed as Bangladesh Border Guards (BGB). The ineptitude on the part of the general speaks of a complete lack of oversight in reining in the disturbing law and exercising order and control over the national intelligence with far-reaching security implications. Now, two things are glaring and can't be ignored. One, the Hindus will be more vulnerable in Gopalganj in particular, and the cascading effects of the ensuing violence are likely to reverberate in other Hindu pockets in Bangladesh, where they could possibly be the target of violence, with their places of worship and immovable property more vulnerable to the communal elements. Two, with the tacit support of the interim regime under Muhammad Yunus, anti-AL forces, including the NCP and the Jammat, in all probability, will be emboldened to take on the AL cadres in order to further decimate them. And three, by implication, it is largely believed that the AL and Sheikh Hasina, perceived to be India-inclined, anti-India rhetoric will escalate further amongst the vernacular media and other quarters of the political and social entities. After dwelling upon the Gopalganj violent clashes, which are still fresh in minds, exposing the government's abject failure to contain public order and lawlessness, it would be imperative to examine what all happened within the year post-Hasina's departure from Dhaka. Subsequent to Hasina's departure, complete anarchy prevailed all over Bangladesh, indicating there was no government control or semblance of any law and order. The communal elements, robbers, and criminals had a field day for several months, looting and vandalising at their free will. There were hundreds of prisoners, including hardened criminals, who escaped from the prison, and not only that, there were outrageous lootings of the armouries, broad daylight dacoities, and murders. In addition, the communal elements attacked various minority groups, including Ahmadiyas, Shias, Sufis, etc, and their places of worship were openly desecrated and vandalised. Hindu places of worship were targeted in particular, and many temples were attacked, and their idols were defiled and destroyed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While stock taking of the major violent happenings in Bangladesh during the post-Hasina period, it would also be pertinent to highlight the lawlessness when the unbridled violent mob brought down the residence of the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, looting all the pieces kept in the residence-turned-museum and destroying precious possessions reminiscent of the bloody freedom struggle of 1971. Analytically, this shows the mindset of a large number of ungrateful people who shamelessly tampered with history, destroying all evidence of the Liberation War. Sadly, the government, the military, and various arms of police forces were mute witnesses to the destruction, leading the people to believe that there was indeed a government complicity in turning a blind eye when the perpetrators carried out this mindless violent act. Under the circumstances, it would also appear desirable to touch upon some other occurrences in the aftermath of Hasina's departure from the political scene, which had a profound negative impact on the social, political, and cultural fabric of Bangladesh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The most disturbing development was the present regime's steady proximity towards Pakistan, which once unleashed such highhandedness with immense ferocity by committing genocide in 1971 without so far tendering any apology for the large cases of violation of Bengali women by Pakistani occupation forces and the grotesque inhuman acts on the Bengalis before the liberation. While it is politically alright for Bangladesh to befriend Pakistan, amnesia should not be to the extent of conveniently forgetting atrocities once so viciously committed. To illustrate further, it would perhaps be politically unwise to observe Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah's 76th death anniversary being held in the National Press Club, Dhaka, in the presence of the Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner. It may be recapitulated that Jinnah, who was anti-Bengali and anti-Bangla, always opposed the use of the Bengali language in place of Urdu. In sum, involving the Pakistani High Commission and remembering Jinnah is indeed a departure from the past and an endorsement of Jinnah's two-nation theory and anti-Bangla ideology. This has also hit hard the secular forces within Bangladesh, the progressives and liberals as well as the freedom fighters and pro-liberation forces. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In another development post Hasina, there were demands for renaming one of the hostels of Dhaka University to Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who was chiefly responsible for supporting the idea of a separate Pakistan. This trend also merits a close watch as to whether the intelligentsia of Bangladesh is moving towards a direction with Pakistani leanings. In a different vein, it would also appear that there is a subtle move to remove the powerful presence of Tagore amongst the Bangladeshi minds, as he had influenced Bengalis in a big way in the fields of music, dance, literature, drama, etc. A mob vandalised the historic Rabindra Kacharibari in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district, which has an ancestral mansion of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, and attacked the auditorium on the mansion premises and assaulted its director in the month of June this year. Following the attack, authorities in Bangladesh shut down the site and formed a probe panel to investigate the incident. It could, however, be an eyewash. It is an irony that this act of vandalism drew more criticism in India than in Bangladesh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, another unfortunate incident has come to the fore, which speaks poorly of the Yunus administration and its vision to keep things under control. The old heritage ancestral property belonging to film icon Satyajit Ray's paternal grandfather, Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury, was demolished in the district of Mymensingh in Bangladesh very recently to make way for a new semi-concrete structure for Shishu Academy. This bizarre step has naturally hurt the sentiments of hundreds and thousands of Satyajit Ray's fans all over India, leading the governments of India and West Bengal to protest and stop the demolition. Such an outrageous act on the part of the Bangladesh authorities also shows that the Yunus-led administration in Bangladesh is completely insensitive to the sentiments of heritage and ancestral property of Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury, who was a noted writer and academic, plus a prominent and progressive social reformer. The strong appeal by the Indian side has forced the government of Bangladesh to rethink the demolition, as it would again expose the present Bangladesh regime in a dim light. Such a glaring amiss, which was perhaps unthinkable during the previous regime, and, therefore, it is important to highlight this while auditing the performance of the present regime in the last nearly one year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In an ultimate assessment, it is clear in the preceding year, the present regime has failed to meet people's expectations in the maintenance of law and order, safety and security of the minorities and their places of worship and properties, controlling the communal and fundamentalist forces, or even checking the economic downturn. The government, according to the analysts, has also failed miserably to improve ties with India, with no signs of any improvement. The government-controlled media continues to be hostile and biased amid a sharp rise in human rights abuses as charged by many. It is likely that these factors will play a dominant part in the upcoming elections scheduled some time next year. In fact, a large segment of the population is so miserable and disillusioned that they are silently wanting Hasina's rule back again, perhaps for an orderly and tranquil regime with their dignity intact. The writer is a retired IPS officer, adviser NatStrat, Bangladesh watcher and a security analyst. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Amid Maharashtra poll ‘fraud' row, decks cleared for EVM verification, mock polls in Pune seats
Months after several losing Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates alleged irregularities in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Pune district election officer has ordered inspection and verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs) of 27 polling stations in the Hadapsar constituency on an application of NCP(SP) candidate Prashant Jagtap from July 25 to August 2. Jagtap was defeated by sitting NCP legislator Chetan Tupe by 7,122 votes. Jagtap has deposited a fee of Rs 12.74 lakh to the district election officer or collector for the EVMs' verification in 27 of the constituency's booths, where he believes he should have gained an upper hand. The checking and verification of the 27 EVMs, which will also involve mock polls, will be done at the Bhosari godown in the district, where the voting machines are stored in a strong room. The entire process will be carried out as per the Election Commission (EC)'s standard operating procedure (SOP). Each EVM comprising a control unit and a VVPAT (voter verified paper audit trail) machine with 1,400 votes would be checked, official sources said. Two EVMs would be verified on July 25, followed by the checking of four voting machines each day for the next six days, with the remaining one machine to be verified on August 2. According to the deputy district election officer and deputy collector, Meenal Kalaskar, 27 EVMs' data will be verified, which were registered during the counting of votes in November 2024, in the presence of the candidate's representatives. 'The data will be erased and a mock poll for each EVM consisting of a control unit and a VVPAT will be conducted to further verify the operation of the machine,' Kalaskar said, adding that a final report will be submitted to the EC for any further action. Jagtap said the checking and verification of EVMs would 'expose' alleged electoral malpractices due to which, he claimed, he lost the polls in Hadapsar to his NCP rival. He said he would seek re-election once it is proved that the EVMs had 'discrepancies' during the polls. While the Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) is an ally of the MVA, the NCP, headed by Ajit Pawar, is a key constituent of the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition. Chetan Tupe, however, rejected Jagtap's allegations, saying that 'The defeated candidate will achieve nothing out of this exercise. It is a mere mock poll. It has been proved time and again that EVMs are accurate. The defeated candidate has raised doubts about EVMs, so it is between Jagtap and Election Commission.' He also said, 'I have been elected and declared a legislator constitutionally. I have nothing to worry about. There is no question of any re-election.' The mock drill of each EVM is done before the start of voting and only verified machines are used in actual polling, Tupe said, pointing out that the verification of five EVMs of each Assembly constituency had also been done after the counting of votes, in which votes polled are matched with the VVPAT slips. 'Both times, there were no problems in EVMs. It will be the same now,' he said, adding Jagtap should accept his defeat. The incumbent Mahayuti, which includes the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena besides the NCP (SP), swept the Assembly polls, winning 235 of the total 288 seats as against the MVA's 50, with the latter comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP. However, barely five months earlier, in June 2024, the MVA had won 30 of the total 48 seats in the Lok Sabha polls in the state as against the Mahayuti's 17. So, in the wake of the Assembly poll results, the MVA leaders alleged that manipulated EVMs and rigged polls caused their debacle, with some of their losing candidates challenging it before the state election authorities too. The Pune administration's July 25-August 2 exercise will also involve the district's Khadakwasla Assembly constituency. The losing NCP(SP) candidate in Khadakwasla, Sachin Dodke, has sought the inspection and verification of only two EVMs though. He was defeated by BJP candidate Bhimrao Tapkir by 52,000 votes, who bagged the seat for the fourth consecutive time. Significantly, an NCP(SP) candidate, Uttamrao Jankar, also alleged tampering of EVMs despite winning his election from the Malshiras Assembly seat in Solapur district against the BJP candidate by over 13,000 votes. He extended his support to a mock poll with ballot papers proposed by the people of Markadwadi village in his constituency to 'verify' the Assembly poll results. However, the Markadwadi villagers' proposed ballot paper exercise on December 3 last year was called off after police warned of action citing prohibitory orders issued by the district administration. 'We will take up this issue with the EC and judiciary, we will not stop until we get justice,' Jankar had then said.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Kokate refers to govt as ‘beggar', triggers new row; inappropriate, says CM as oppn pushes for ouster
Nashik: The controversy over allegedly playing rummy on his phone in the House was yet to die down and agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate sparked a new row on Tuesday by likening govt to a "beggar" while trying to clarify a remark he had made earlier about farmers. The comment prompted CM Devendra Fadnavis to dub it "inappropriate" and reignited opposition's demand for his ouster. Kokate, who represents Nashik's Sinnar assembly constituency, was questioned about his previous remark that had drawn criticism in which he had said that while even beggars do not accept Re 1 in alms, govt provides crop insurance for that amount. "Govt doesn't give Re 1 to the farmers, it takes Re 1 from them for crop insurance. So, who is the beggar here? Govt is a beggar and not the farmer. My statement was misconstrued then by the people," he said in an attempt to clarify. Kokate said he had played a key role in rejecting more than 5.3 lakh bogus applications under the Re 1 crop insurance scheme, which govt has now withdrawn and replaced with the PM crop insurance scheme. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai The 'beggar' remark didn't go unnoticed—neither by the CM nor the opposition. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo "If he has made such a comment, it is inappropriate for ministers to speak in this manner. We took corrective measures in the crop insurance scheme as we saw insurance companies benefitting and not farmers," Fadnavis said in Gadchiroli. NCP (SP) MP and party's working president Supriya Sule condemned Kokate's remark, saying calling govt a "beggar" was a disastrous move. "It took the supreme sacrifice by 105 martyrs in the struggle for united Maharashtra and immense contribution by previous chief ministers and the people of the state to make Maharashtra the most prosperous state in the country. Calling the state a 'beggar' is an insult to them," she said in a post. Alleging that there has never been a more insensitive agriculture minister, she demanded the portfolio be given to someone who would treat farmers well.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
CM Fadnavis brands agri minister Kokate's ‘govt is beggar' comment inappropriate
1 2 3 4 Nashik: On Tuesday, state agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate referred to govt as a "beggar" while addressing the media in Nashik, igniting a fresh controversy. Kokate, who represents Nashik's Sinnar assembly constituency, was questioned about his previous remarks suggesting that even beggars do not accept Re 1 in alms and that govt provides crop insurance for that amount. He clarified, "Govt doesn't give Re 1 to the farmers, it takes Re 1 from them for crop insurance. So who is the beggar here? Govt is a beggar, and not the farmer. My statement was misconstrued then by the people." Kokate said he played a key role in rejecting more than 5.3 lakh bogus applications under the Re 1 crop insurance scheme, which govt has now abolished and replaced with the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called Kokate's comments "inappropriate." Speaking in Gadchiroli, Fadnavis said, "If he has made such a comment, it is inappropriate for ministers to speak in this manner. We have taken corrective measures in the crop insurance scheme as we saw insurance companies benefitting and not farmers." Fadnavis added, "We have taken steps to invest Rs 5,000 crore every year in the agriculture sector. " NCP (SP) MP and party's working president Supriya Sule, in a post on X, condemned Kokate's remarks, saying that calling the state govt a "beggar" was an act of insensitivity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo "It took the supreme sacrifice by 105 martyrs in the struggle for United Maharashtra and immense contribution by previous chief ministers and the people of the state to make Maharashtra the most prosperous state in the country. Calling the state a 'beggar' is a disaster and an insult to them," she wrote. Sule further added, "There has never been an agriculture minister who behaved so insensitively towards farmers when there are so many burning issues. The portfolio should be handled by someone sensitive towards agriculture and farmers." Congress, meanwhile, questioned whether chief minister Fadnavis lacked the courage to dismiss a cabinet minister who jeopardised the rich political tradition and culture of the state. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshvardhan Sapkal asked, "The ministers in Fadnavis's cabinet seem like a collection of rare specimens — each one a 'gem' in his own way. A minister like Kokate should not be retained in the office even for a moment. Does Fadnavis lack courage to sack Kokate?"
