Maharashtra Assembly Elections: R R Patil's name comes to the fore

Mumbai: As the Vidhan Sabha polls in Maharashtra gather steam, the name of Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as R R Patil, has come to the fore.

Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President Ajit Pawar citing references from Deputy Chief Minister and BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis, has claimed that Patil had backstabbed him and recommended an open inquiry against him in the alleged irrigation scam.

Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, had also served as the Water Resources Minister during the Democratic Front government.

“The file mentioning Patil’s remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to me by Fadnavis after he became Chief Minister in 2014,” Pawar claimed.

R R Patil was a senior NCP leader who was Home Minister during the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

He passed away on February 16, 2015 following multi-organ failure while battling oral cancer, at the age of 57.

He was popularly known as Aaba, RR or RR Aaba – and was considered close to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

A workaholic with a ‘Mr Clean’ image, he was respected by one and all cutting across party lines. A grassroots leader with a ‘Common Man’-politician image, the six-time MLA, who had handled portfolios of Rural Development and Home and served as Deputy Chief Minister briefly had been credited with banning dance bars in Maharashtra, launching Sant Gadgebaba Swachata Abhiyan, drafting the surrender policy for Naxals and Tantamukt Gaon, a scheme for dispute-free villages.

After his death, his wife Suman Patil represented the Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal constituency in Sangli district. This time, his son Rohit RR Patil is contesting the seat.

R R Patil resigned on December 1, 2008 in the aftermath of 26/11 terror attacks.

When asked at a press conference whether the terror strike was an intelligence failure, Patil had said: "It is not like that. In big cities like this, incidents like this do happen. It is not a total failure."

Patil's words drew flak from many quarters.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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