Nawab in ED net, MVA closes rank; but who is next?

Minister Nawab Malik was taken for a medical check-up and later produced in court at the ED office in Ballard Estate on Wednesday. Pics/Suresh Karkera

NCP leader Nawab Malik's arrest takes the count of the Maharashtra ministers in the Enforcement Directorate's custody to two. The minority affairs minister has joined a party colleague, former home minister Anil Deshmukh. Both face charges of money laundering, and some other important leaders in the Maha Vikas Aghadi have been accused of similar malpractice by BJP, which openly indicated some days ago that a certain MVA leader will do time in the ED cell next to Deshmukh.

They again said on Wednesday that some more will be behind the bars very soon. What do the actions by the Central agencies mean for state politics which has never been so volatile? Till date, three MVA ministers have had a rough time.

NCP workers protest Malik's detention at Ballard Estate

The Sena's (former forest) minister Sanjay Rathod resigned when he was accused of abetting the suicide of a woman. Deshmukh resigned in the wake of corruption charges. But the MVA has decided to not seek Malik's resignation till the charges are proved. It vowed to stand firmly in support of the minister and deny the BJP the delight of having got yet another scalp. The move will force the BJP onto the streets, but give Malik's supporters, particularly the Muslim community, a sense that they have not been given a raw deal. Malik had resigned 17 years ago after graft activist Anna Hazare accused him and other ministers of corrupt practices. He staged a comeback, and post-2019, became the MVA's voice, with Sena MP Sanjay Raut being the other. Both have locked horns with the BJP over the alleged excesses by central agencies.

Malik's arrest comes ahead of the Mumbai civic polls. He is accused of having links with 1993 blast accused Dawood Ibrahim, a fugitive underworld don. But Malik isn't the only NCP leader to have faced such allegations. His party boss Sharad Pawar was also accused of having links with Dawood. Pawar recalled the allegations while defending Malik on Wednesday. The BJP and Sena formed their first ever government, and led by the accuser and the then deputy Chief Minister, Gopinath Munde, probed telephone calls to Dubai. Five years later, Pawar's party retained power in alliance with the Congress and ruled the state for 15 years. The NCP boss has used Malik's arrest to reiterate that the BJP was an anti-Muslim party. The Muslim community constitutes one fourth of Mumbai's population.

NCP workers protest Malik's detention, at Ballard Estate. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Who's next?

After Malik's arrest, one question that reigned supreme was: who will be the next? Other than Raut, a Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab, who is considered very close to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, has accused the BJP of hounding them. Thackeray, his family and a Sena MLA's family are also being targeted, said Raut.

Politics is a game of perception, they say. Will perception of a minister in the MVA government having terror links work again for the BJP?

The ED had created a much bigger political storm ahead of 2019 Assembly polls by sending Pawar a notice, which the NCP boss used to boost the party's electoral prospects. He volunteered to visit the office to facilitate his questioning. His move mobilised the NCP cadre. The party ended up increasing its winning seats beyond expectations. Rest is history as the same number gave Pawar an opportunity to forge an ‘unnatural' tripartite post-poll coalition, named MVA. The ruling parties have since been fairly able to create a perception that the BJP is trying to topple their government by hook or by crook, even as the BJP asserts that the MVA will fall because of internal differences.

Giving it back

As the troubles kept surfacing, the MVA didn't remain quiet, but gave it back to the BJP using everything at its disposal. The ‘crusaders' in the BJP such as the Ranes, who have targeted the Sena's first family, and ex-MP Kirit Somaiya are already facing the heat. Union minister Narayan Rane was arrested early this year, his MLA son Nitesh was bailed out in an assault case. The BJP has promised a big expose in celebrity manager Disha Salian's death after March 7.

Former CM Devendra Fadnavis's pet projects are being probed for alleged irregularities. Recently, a R25,000-crore IT scam was alleged to have taken place in his tenure and is likely to be probed by the state.

The MVA claimed that Malik's arrest has strengthened their resolve to fight against the BJP.

Two
No. of state ministers in the ED's custody