Once Uddhav Thackeray’s go-to person, MLA joins forces with Eknath Shinde: Who is Ravindra Waikar?

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar who joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday night was a close associate of party chief Uddhav Thackeray. He has been under the lens of the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the construction of a luxury hotel in the city, allegedly in violation of an agreement with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

There has been speculation for months that Waikar might switch to the ruling alliance. After he changed camps, Sena (UBT) MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut alleged that the MLA was facing pressure from investigating agencies and was being threatened to either defect or face jail. The EOW had booked Waikar and five others on a complaint by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya who alleged that the Sena politician was involved in a Rs 500 crore scam. Somaiya alleged that Waikar fraudulently obtained approval for the construction of a five-star hotel on a plot reserved for a garden by using his political clout, causing a huge loss to the BMC.

Based on the Mumbai Police’s FIR, the ED registered a case of money laundering against Waikar last November. The central agency also raided seven premises linked to Waikar and questioned him a few times.

A three-time MLA, the 65-year-old Waikar started his political career as a grassroots-level Shiv Sainik in the 1980s and became a BMC corporator from Mumbai’s Jogeshwari area. He was elected corporator for four consecutive terms and served as the chairperson of the BMC standing committee from 2006 to 2009. He was thrice elected MLA from Jogeshwari East thrice – in 2009, 2014, and 2019.

Waikar also held the portfolio of Minister of State for Housing and Higher