A month after Maharashtra Minister Pratap Sarnaik’s action against Rapido, company features as sponsor for son’s commercial event

Maharashtra's Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said it was “wrong to connect Pro-Govinda sports with politics”.

Written by Alok Deshpande

Mumbai | Updated: August 8, 2025 07:46 IST

In July, Pratap Sarnaik posted a video on X and pointed out how Rapido was functioning illegally (left); a month later, a poster of the Pro Govinda League showed the bike aggregator as the main sponsor of the event. (Express photo)

A MONTH after Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced action against Rapido for operating in Mumbai “without permission”, the bike taxi aggregator has emerged as the main sponsor of this year’s Pro-Govinda League, a Dahi Handi competition in Mumbai organised by his son, leading to allegations of misuse of power.

On July 2, in a widely publicised operation, Sarnaik had caught a Rapido bike taxi plying near the Mantralaya junction in Mumbai. He had booked a ride on the app using a random name to confirm public complaints about unauthorised bike taxi services. “I myself used this illegal service despite the government not giving it the nod. Such companies operating without state sanction will be taken strictly to task,” he had said. Following this, his department had launched raids, confiscating 78 bike taxis, all operating for Rapido.

After it emerged that Rapido was the main sponsor of Pro-Govinda League 2025, which kicked off on Wednesday, Opposition parties targeted the Shiv Sena leader, accusing him of misusing his post.

Taking a dig at the minister, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said Sarnaik should be congratulated for showing the state government how to raise money. “First, you book a bike through a private app, then you catch the poor biker… make videos of it… and build your own image. And then, what a great idea to get funds for the event from these troubled private app owners. The minister showed how to raise funds when Maharashtra’s coffers are in tatters,” he said.

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar called it “blackmail”. “The minister caught the Rapido bike. He got publicity. And then he rapidly changed his position and brokered a sponsorship. It just proves that this government works for itself and not for the public. I want to ask whether this is not a misuse of the ministerial post?”

Maharashtra’s bike taxi policy has been in draft form since 2022. After several re-drafts, the final draft was issued in June, but is yet to be officially implemented. In the absence of a clear framework, Rapido has continued operations using private bikes, which violates existing transport laws.

While Rapido did not respond to queries from The Indian Express, Sarnaik and his son denied any wrongdoing.

In a statement, the minister said it was “wrong to connect Pro-Govinda sports with politics”.

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“I had taken action against the company on July 2, whereas the sponsorship was given on May 26. I fearlessly took action against the company that was sponsoring the pro-Govinda event organised by my son, Purvesh Sarnaik. Instead of praising the action, some people are opposing it for the sake of it,” Sarnaik said.

His son Purvesh said: “We had appointed a professional agency to look after the issues of sponsorship and publicity. They brought Rapido on board in the month of May. The episode of the minister taking action against Rapido happened in July.”

Purvesh said Rapido fitted as a sponsor because it would provide employment to the “Govindas” who take part in the competition. “There will be 3,200 Govindas who are participating. If even 10 per cent of them got employment, my aim of organising the event will be fulfilled,” he said.

A total of 16 teams are competing in the third edition of Pro-Govinda, forming human pyramids to break a pot of curd in the run-up to Janmashtami. With West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle as the brand ambassador, the league has a total prize money of Rs 1.5 crore. The first prize is Rs 75 lakh, the second Rs 50 and third Rs 25 lakh. Each participating team will get Rs 3 lakh.

The event will conclude on August 9 in Worli.

(With inputs from Siddhant Konduskar)

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