Here BJP leaders in key posts guzzled oil

PART-XII MAHARASHTRA

---

1. Abhay Chandrakant Sawant:
Allotted petrol pump at Shiroda on Mumbai-Goa national highway. Sawant
is BJP Sindhudurg district president. Sawant said he was selected on the basis
of merit and had completed all legal formalities.
2. Narayan Ashok Keluskar:
Pump at Vengurla in Sindhudurg district. He is BJP Sindhudurg district
general secretary. His wife, Maitreyi, maintained that her husband’s political
status had not influenced the allotment.
3. Atul Kalsekar:
LPG agency at Banda in Sindhudurg district. He is the district president
of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha.
4. Rohit Ashok Patil:
Pump on Bhigwan-Indapur road, Pune. He is the nephew of BJP state unit secretary
Popatrao alias Balasaheb Gawade. Denying any role in the allotment, Gawade pointed
out that his nephew was a Congress worker.
5. Varna Valley Co-operative
Purchase and Sale Union Limited: LPG agency in Sangli. The cooperative
society is led by district BJP secretary Chandrakant B Patil, who is also chairman
of the proposed Janata Sahakari Cooperative Sugar Factory, promoted by former
BJP minister Anna Dange. Patil is away on a study tour to the United States.
6. Walva Taluka Agriculture
Fruits and Vegetable Sale Purchase and Processing Co-Operative Society:
LPG agency at Uran-Islampur in Sangli district. The society is headed by senior
BJP functionary from Islampur, Dinkar Patil. Patil denies that his party links
had anything to with the allotment. He said the agency was not allotted to him
in any individual capacity but was given to the cooperative society.
7. Hemchandra Yashwant Mane:
Pump at Rajapur on Mumbai-Goa national highway. He is the elder brother of
BJP MLA from Ratnagiri Bal Mane. Hemchandra is one of the directors of the Ratnagiri
District Central Cooperative Bank. Mane refused to take phone calls despite repeated
attempts.
8. Smita Govind Paranjpe:
LPG agency at Devrukh, Ratnagiri district. She runs an ayurvedic shop.
The Paranjpe family is close to the Sangh Parivar. Son Omkar, who runs the agency,
denied any Sangh links and said he was allotted the agency on merit.
9. Anand Laxman Sathe:
Pump at Aravali in Ratnagiri district. He is the nephew of Nandu Sathe,
BJP Makhjan region chief and Burambad sarpanch. Nandu maintained that politics
had nothing to do with the allotment of the agency. He said Anand was selected
on merit basis.
10. Rajkumar Koli:
Pump at Basavnagar on the outskirts of Solapur. Son of former Congress members
of Solapur municipal corporation, Parmeshwar and Laxmibai Koli, Rajkumar is an
active BJP worker. Close to Lingraj Valyal, he unsuccessfully contested the corporation
elections in 1997.
11. Aniruddha Pujari:
LPG agency at Sangola in Solapur district. He is the son of RSS and BJP leader
Vasant D Pujari. ‘‘There is no politics behind the allotment. Mine is
a merit case.’’
12. Milind Deshpande:
LPG agency in Solapur. He is the nephew of Kishor Deshpande, senior BJP
leader and former mayor of Solapur. Kishor Deshpande maintained that his nephew
was ‘‘highly educated and quite competent’’ to run the LPG
business. He denied that his BJP links had anything to do with the allotment.
‘‘He (Milind) is qualified. Why should I use my influence? I’m
a very small party member,’’ Kishor said.
13. Sandeep Chandrakant
Mane: LPG agency at Talegaon on Mumbai-Pune
national highway. He is nephew of independent MP Ramdas Athawale. A civil engineer,
Mane said Athwale was a relative of his mother but had no role in the allotment.
‘‘I took the interview and the judges were impressed,’’ he
said.

(With inputs from Prasannakumar Keskar)