MUMBAI: Maharashtra agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, who has been embroiled in controversy after being caught playing an online card game in the state legislative council, is likely to be reassigned to the sports and youth welfare ministry, people familiar with the matter said.
Deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar took the decision at a meeting of senior party leaders on Thursday morning, the people said.
Kokate is likely to be replaced at the agriculture ministry by Dattatray Bharne, who currently holds the portfolio of the sports and youth welfare ministry.
Bharne, a three-time legislator from Indapur seat in Pune, is considered a close aide of Pawar and has been part of the council of ministers since 2019. In the 2024 assembly elections, he defeated NCP (SP) heavyweight Harshwardhan Patil by over 19,000 votes.
The swap of portfolios has not been announced yet. But Pawar has conveyed his decision to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who has been upset about ministers from his two alliance partners, the NCP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, for stoking controversies.
A senior NCP leader said Pawar decided to take some action against Kokate after having warned him on several occasions in the past. “The punishment will not be as harsh as been awarded to Dhananjay Munde as Kokate will not be removed from the state cabinet. His portfolio will be changed. He will be given the sports and youth welfare department and his agriculture department will be handed over to Dattatray Bharne,” the leader said.
Dhananjay Munde had to resign this March after his close aide Walmik Karad was arrested in connection with the murder of a village head or sarpanch in Beed district.
Kokate found himself in the centre of a controversy after NCP (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar released a video in which the agriculture minister was seen playing an online card game on his phone during the monsoon session of the state legislative council. Kokate initially denied the accusation,contending that the card game was an ad that popped up. But Pawar has contested the defence, claiming this week that Kokate was on the game for about 20 minutes.
The five-time legislator’s clarification of a comment made in February also complicated his relations. In February, he compared farmers with beggars and said, “Nowadays, even beggars do not even accept a single rupee but the government offers crop insurance to farmers for just one rupee.”