The arrest of former state minister and Osmanabad NCP MP Padmasinh Patil for his alleged involvement in the murder of Congress leader Pavanraje Nimbalkar has come as a severe jolt to the NCP in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

Patil is a close aide of NCP president and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, and had recently switched to national politics after winning the Lok Sabha polls from Osmanabad, one of the most backward districts in the state located in Marathwada.

The 69-year-old Patil, who hails from Ter near Osmanabad, holds an MBBS degree and practised as a doctor until 1970 when he entered politics. A relative of the Pawar family — his sister is married to Pawar’s nephew and Water Resources Minister Ajit Pawar — he became a member and office-bearer of the Osmanabad Zilla Parishad and later went on to become an MLA in 1978 from the Osmanabad constituency. The NCP and Shiv Sena-BJP are ranged against each other in Marathwada, where the Congress is a marginal player accounting for just seven of of the 46 Assembly seats.

Pawanraje Nimbalkar, who happened to be Patil’s cousin , was his close aide who helped him manage the affairs of the constituency, Terna Co-operative Sugar Factory and Osmanabad District Central Co-operative Bank.

However, Patil’s ascendant star was clouded after social worker Anna Hazare made corruption charges against him and other ministers, which led to the Justice P B Sawant commission of inquiry being instituted to look into the charges.

The inquiry indicted Patil for corrupt practices. This led to Patil’s subsequent exit from the Cabinet, and the differences between Patil and Nimbalkar reached a head later with Nimbalkar contesting against him in 2004 as an Independent from the Osmanabad constituency.

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