Nawale-Rathod meet raises eyebrows

Rathod too was dropped from the state ministry a few years ago and has been sidelined by the party hierarchy. Therefore, the meeting of Nawale and Rathod has caused speculation.

When contacted, Rathod said that Nawale was his friend and had dropped in for a meal while on his way to Beed. "During our visit, we did not speak a word of politics,"Rathod asserted. Nawale was at Rathod’s residence from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The two MLAs had lunch at Rathod’s residence and no party worker was present there during this time.

After his revolt against the party leadership, a mob had attacked Nawale at his residence in Mumbai. Since then, he has been provided protection. However, the local police were not aware of Nawale’s arrival in the town. The control room here was informed of the former minister’s arrival only a few moments before his departure for Beed.

Soon after, the news of the meeting spread. There were many calls to the office of The Indian Express here too. The local Shiv Sena is divided between the groups led by Rathod and the south district party chief Babusheth Tyrewale. Presently, the Tyrewale faction has managed to establish its supremacy by securing appointments to important posts. Therefore, the rival Tyrewale faction reaction to the meeting of Nawale and Rathod could be interesting.

Rathod had rejected a proposal to leave the party when a sizable number of Shiv Sena MLAs, led by Chhagan Bhujbal, had joined the Congress.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the meeting was not planned in advance and that Rathod had tried to avoid meeting the rebel MLA.