In the seaside region of Raigad, ‘musical chairs’ seems to be the preferred game by members of the Tatkare family. In a constituency once represented by former Maharashtra Chief Minister A R Antulay, brothers Sunil and Anil Tatkare are on two sides of the NCP, pitted against each other for political supremacy. If Sunil was appointed the state president of the Ajit Pawar faction when he pulled off a coup in 2023, older brother Anil joined the NCP (SP) earlier this year and was appointed its state vice president, after switching parties thrice in the past five years. The Tatkare family has spread its wings wide in the region—if Sunil is the member of parliament from Raigad, daughter Aditi is a minister in the state government while son Aniket is a member of the legislative council or an MLC. His brother Anil is a former MLC who occupied the position between 2010 and 2018, his son Avdhoot is a former member of the assembly from Shrivardhan. Such is the influence and spread of the family over the region of Raigad.
Sunil began his career as a government contractor and joined the Congress in the late 1980s and became an MLA from Shrivardhan in 1995, a constituency he won until 2014. In two decades, he also held the post of a minister for departments such as energy, finance, food and civil supplies. In 2014, his nephew Avdhoot won from Shrivardhan. Since 2019, Sunil has been a Member of Parliament from Raigad and is also a key member of the NCP. He was at the forefront during splitting the NCP, along with Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel. While the NCP (SP) charged him of anti-party activities, Patel appointed him as the state president of the NCP. In 2012, the BJP had accused him of involvement in a land scam.
The area, which sees high tourist footfall because of the Raigad Fort and other destinations, has seen little development over the years.
Sunil’s daughter Aditi began her political career as the president of the Raigad Zilla Parishad in 2017 and then in 2019, won the assembly elections from the constituency her father had represented for several years. She was made a minister of state in the MVA government and then became a minister, once again, in the Mahayuti government in 2023.
Anil and Avdhoot have switched parties often, starting with the NCP, moving to the Shiv Sena in 2019, then to the BJP in 2022 and now the father-son duo is in the NCP (SP).
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