Bombay confidential: Poll tasks not so scenic

Dis-associating with ‘godman’

The tales of self-styled godman Ashok Kharat’s alleged ritual of cutting little finger as a sacrifice made an official hide his genuine injury to avoid being associated with him. The official attached with a Maharashtra minister injured his finger at a government function recently, when a structure on the stage at a convention centre in BKC fell. When the official showed up the next day with a bandage around his little finger, he faced curious glances from onlookers. It prompted him to hide the injured hand under the files he was carrying, even at the cost of discomfort.

Passing the info-leak buck

A ‘drug raid’ by officers of one police unit in the jurisdiction of another, was attacked by drug peddlers recently. While both the police units began a blame game over leaking the information of the raid to the peddlers, buzz is that a senior officer was taken for a ride by the erring unit. The cops involved in the possible leak managed to convince the officer that the blame lies with the other unit.

Making the most of ‘forced leave’

Satara superintendent of police Tushar Doshi has been in the spotlight after Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe announced his suspension over alleged police misconduct during Satara Zilla Parishad elections, while the chief minister stalled it only to announce later that he had been sent on forced leave. Doshi who resumed work after a week made the most of the time visiting Mahabaleshwar with his family and even posted a selfie from there.

Khaki privilege lands in trouble

Standup comic Samay Raina has fallen afoul of the Maharashtra police after some comments on his show that led to FIRs. In his latest act, he mentioned an episode whereby a senior cop began his interrogation by asking if he would first speak to his niece who was the stand-up comic’s fan, to which Raina agreed. Those within the police circles have been sharing the clip with each other, believing they have zeroed in on the officer successfully.

CM to retain finance portfolio

With three-and-a-half years roadmap ahead to fix fault lines, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to retain the Finance portfolio along with Home. After the demise of deputy CM Ajit Pawar in January this year, the CM took charge of finance ministry and presented state budget 2026-27. Now the buzz is that Fadnavis is unlikely to part with key portfolio in the absence of a suitable candidate in the current cabinet. What needs to be seen is whether the NCP would give the nod or seek another portfolio in bargain.

BJP’s prepares for Mission 2029

The BJP is keeping its cadre busy, in preparation for the 2029 Maharashtra Assembly elections. At the party headquarters, one heard a senior leader say, “Machines at least take a break. But here we have 360 days’ plans.” State BJP president Ravindra Chavan has already unveiled the party’s ambitious plan, saying, “We have to work to accomplish 2029 goal.” The message was loud and clear: BJP should work for absolute majority in 2029 Assembly polls. However, the state unit is silent on the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, saying, “we will keep our allies together”.