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

NCP leader Nawab Malikrsquos arrest takes the count of the Maharashtra ministers in the Enforcement Directoratersquos 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 DeshmukhThey 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 timeNCP workers protest Malikrsquos detention at Ballard EstateThe Senarsquos 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 Malikrsquos 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 Malikrsquos 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 post2019 became the MVArsquos voice with Sena MP Sanjay Raut being the other Both have locked horns with the BJP over the alleged excesses by central agenciesMalikrsquos 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 isnrsquot 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 Pawarrsquos party retained power in alliance with the Congress and ruled the state for 15 years The NCP boss has used Malikrsquos arrest to reiterate that the BJP was an antiMuslim party The Muslim community constitutes one fourth of Mumbairsquos populationNCP workers protest Malikrsquos detention at Ballard Estate PicSuresh KarkeraWhorsquos nextAfter Malikrsquos 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 MLArsquos family are also being targeted said RautPolitics is a game of perception they say Will perception of a minister in the MVA government having terror links work again for the BJPThe 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 partyrsquos 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 lsquounnaturalrsquo tripartite postpoll 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 backAs the troubles kept surfacing the MVA didnrsquot remain quiet but gave it back to the BJP using everything at its disposal The lsquocrusadersrsquo in the BJP such as the Ranes who have targeted the Senarsquos first family and exMP 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 Salianrsquos death after March 7Former CM Devendra Fadnavisrsquos pet projects are being probed for alleged irregularities Recently a R25000crore IT scam was alleged to have taken place in his tenure and is likely to be probed by the stateThe MVA claimed that Malikrsquos arrest has strengthened their resolve to fight against the BJP TwoNo of state ministers in the EDrsquos custody