A far cry from his sprawling residence at Malabar Hill, former Deputy CM and Home Minister R R Patil found himself virtually homeless on his return to Mumbai on Tuesday. Patil had, after submitting his resignation over the Mumbai blasts, vacated his official residence and left for his hometown Anjani in Sangli district.

Patil, who arrived by helicopter for a meeting of the NCP legislative party at the NCP office in Nariman Point, had applied for accommodation as an ordinary MLA at the Manora MLA hostel, a stone’s throw from Mantralaya. However, the room allotted to Patil in the A wing of the hostel was reportedly undergoing renovation and he had to put up in NCP Bhandup MLA Sanjay Patil’s room. The unending stream of visitors to the room after the NCP legislative party meeting testified to his popularity in spite of his relinquishing his post.

Patil’s close associate and Minority Commission Chairperson Nasim Siddiqui, NCP MLA from Haveli in Pune Vilas Lande, NCP MLC Jitendra Awhad, NCP leader from Sangli Iliyas Naikwadi and Karad MLA and state co- operative sugar factories federation chairman Balasaheb Patil were among the people who visited him before he flew back to Sangli. Patil’s erstwhile aides from his deputy chief ministerial days were also in attendance with one of the aides revealing that they had sought a day’s leave to be with Patil. Sanjay Patil told The Indian Express that the “value of his room would increase” if a senior leader like R R Patil used it.