‘My wife will kill herself’, said Shinde camp MLA lobbying for ministership | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: In an embarrassment for CM Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena’s Raigad MLA and chief whip Bharat Gogawale Wednesday said many Sena MLAs who had joined the CM had become ministers by “citing bizarre reasons”.
According to Gogawale, one MLA had claimed his wife would commit suicide if he were not made minister; another from Konkan region had said Union minister Narayan Rane would “finish” him if he didn’t get a ministerial berth; a third had threatened to resign as MLA if he were not included in the cabinet.
Gogawale also said Shinde had become CM because of people like him. The Sena MLA was speaking at a public function in Raigad on Wednesday.
Gogawale has been on the wait list to become a minister since June 2022, when 40 Sena MLAs rebelled against the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray.
Shinde became CM because of people like me: Gogawale
Raigad MLA and chief whip of the Shiv Sena Bharat Gogawale has put chief minister Eknath Shinde in a spot with his claims that many Sena MLAs became ministers due to bizarre reasons. “I found our chief minister in trouble. So I withdrew from the race to become a minister. But what happened? One (MLA) said my wife will commit suicide. One said Narayan Rane will kill me. One said I will resign,” he said.
Continuing in the same vein, Gogawale said, “I called one and asked him, in Sambhajihagar, two out of five MLAs have been given ministerial posts. In Raigad, none of the three MLAs have ministerial positions. I asked, why are you in such a hurry? He said, what do I do when my wife says something? I told Eknath Shinde to give the ministerial berth to him. Then I said an MLA should not be finished by Narayan Rane. We will lose one seat. So give it to him too. I wait for them and I’m waiting until today.”
Gogawale, who has been eyeing a ministerial berth for some time now, had even claimed earlier that he had stitched a new suit for his swearing-in. However, despite claiming close to half a dozen times that he was all set to take oath, he hasn’t been made a minister yet. Gogawale said he had given up his ministerial berth for other MLAs and he has been waiting till date.
He added, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj established Swaraj with the support of Mavalas. That’s how Eknath Shinde has become chief minister-because of people like us.”
In June this year, Gogawale had said, “Whenever there is a cabinet expansion, my number will be there on the list. I think that by June 2, there will be cabinet expansion to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation. The expansion is expected in the next eight-ten days, the time has come… We will take any portfolio that we get.”
The state cabinet was expanded on July 2, with nine MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar taking oath. None of the Shinde group MLAs got a berth during this expansion. Ajit Pawar was made deputy chief minister and was given the finance portfolio in the state cabinet.