One more Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Babanrao Gholap, joins Shinde
Former minister Babanrao Gholap is set to join Shiv Sena, leaving Shiv Sena (UBT). Gholap has a history of corruption cases and was unhappy with recent party decisions.
MUMBAI: In another defection from the Shiv Sena (UBT), Babanrao Gholap, former minister for social welfare and presently a deputy leader of the party, is all set to join the Shiv Sena headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde. Gholap sent his resignation to Uddhav Thackeray on January 15, resigning from the primary membership of the party.
The politician has a host of cases against him. He was accused of being involved in siphoning off ₹4.5 crore from three state-run corporations into the bankrupt Awami Mercantile Bank, for which he allegedly received kickbacks. He had to resign in 1999 after allegations of corruption by Anna Hazare. In 2014, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
Gholap was unhappy about being removed as the Shiv Sena sampark pramukh for the Shirdi Lok Sabha constituency last month. He was also upset about former BJP MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure joining the Shiv Sena (UBT) in August 2023, which diminished his chances of getting a ticket.
Gholap did not attend the Shiv Sena (UBT) convention in Nashik on January 22-23, 2023, and last week, was seen in a meeting held by chief minister Eknath Shinde. He was an MLA from the Nashik Road-Deolali assembly seat from 1990 to 2014. In 2014, his son Yogesh Gholap became the MLA from the constituency but lost to the NCP’s Saroj Ahire in the 2019 assembly polls.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske said, “We welcome everyone to the party. Gholap knows what Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership is like.”
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