Violence queers picth / Wadekar’s driver thrashed…

A visibly shaken Wadekar, who hails from the former Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s group and is backed by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, felt that the incident appeared to be a gameplan of his rivals to unsettle him.

“I was waiting for my driver at 9 a.m. who walks down from his house to mine Sportsfield to take me to the office in the car. But it was only later when someone called me up from the Podar Hospital (where the driver was admitted) that I realised what had happened,” Wadekar explained.

“The driver told me that the man thrashed him for being my driver. Kai, tumche saheb nivadnuk ladhnar aahet ka? (So, your boss wants to contest elections?), was what he said,” revealed Wadekar.

“I then visited the hospital and also lodged a complaint with the Worli Police Station.”

Wadekar also said that his driver (whose brother is a police constable) was being pressurised by the cops to change his statement on the incident. “They want him to say that it was because of personal enmity,” he stated.

Wadekar has also asked the police for protection till the MCA elections are over.

According to Senior Inspector Uday Shinde of Worli police station, Vasudev Kanojia, a dhobi, beat up Bashir Sheikh because the latter had teased his sister. Police say Kanojia and Sheikh, both residents of Worli police quarters, were friends for many years. They played Gully cricket together before today’s incident, said Shinde. The incident happened around 8 am and Sheikh was treated at Podar Hospital before being discharged.

Observers, however saw little of the happening saying it could be anything — either an election stunt or a genuine case of someone’s enmity towards the driver.

“I don’t understand why will someone attack Wadekar’s driver that too when alone and not the man himself,” said one from Wadekar’s rival group.

The incident has given a new twist to the one of the most bitterly fought elections in the MCA history. The entry of Pawar into the arena has created a big stir with some of the leading former cricketers pledging their support to him. On the other hand Shiv Sena has taken Wadekar’s challenge for the top post as a prestige issue.