His son Bhushan Desai on Monday joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Subhash DesaiFormer Industries Minister, a close aide of former CM Uddhav Thackeray, tries to show bravery in speaking his mind son’s move It was “painful” to him but it won’t make any difference to the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
“My son has not been active in Shiv Sena or politics. Therefore, his joining any party will not affect Shiv Sena (UBT). My loyalty to Shiv Sena, Respected Balasaheb, Uddhav Saheb and Matoshree for more than five decades will remain unwavering… I along with many other Shiv Sainiks will continue my work till complete justice is done and Shiv Sena returns to its old glory Can’t get it back,” Subhash said.
A veteran Shiv Sena leader, 80-year-old Subhash is known to be a close lieutenant of Thackeray. He was an ally of Bal Thackeray ever since Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena in the sixties.
Subhash is among those old-fashioned Sena leaders who managed to retain their position in Uddhav’s inner circle when he took control of the party more than a decade ago. Known as a strategist, he was one of the old guard of Shiv Sena who managed to keep himself relevant and close to Uddhav after the demise of Bal Thackeray in November 2012.
A three-time MLA, Subhash has not won any assembly election since 2009, but he was still inducted as a Shiv Sena minister and served in the previous Uddhav-led BJP-Shiv Sena government from 2014-2019 as well. The important industry portfolio was allocated. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Govt.
Subhash, who hails from Goregaon, a Shiv Sena bastion, had lost to BJP’s Vidya Thakur in the 2014 polls, when the two parties contested against each other. The Uddhav-led Sena then chose Subhash as an MLC even as the party nominated him as one of its candidates in the cabinet headed by BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as industry minister.
A low-profile businessman, Bhushan, in his late 40s, is not known to be active in political or social spheres. He runs two companies, one in the food industry and the other in infrastructure.
Bhushan, however, figures on the website of Prabodhan Sangathan of Goregaon, where his name is mentioned as a member of the executive committee without a photograph. Prabodhan was founded by Subhash Desai.
Bhushan was also in the news a few years ago after buying an apartment in Mumbai’s Juhu Highrise for Rs 33 crore.
Known to work behind the scenes, Bhushan was on the radar of the then main opposition BJP during the MVA regime. Then the BJP used to allege that Bhushan was raiding the industry department headed by his father.
In September 2022, nearly three months after it was formed following the collapse of the Uddhav government, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government lasted over 191 years. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) allotted land during MVA rule When Subhash was the Industries Minister. While the new system later lifted the moratorium, it was said that the government was investigating alleged irregularities in these land allotments.
During the winter session of the state assembly in December 2022, BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar was among the ruling party MLAs who raised the demand for an inquiry into Bhushan.
“About 4,14,000 square meters of land MIDC reserved for industrial use was converted for residential purposes, which is illegal. Its cost to the exchequer was Rs 3,109 crore, which is the market value of these lands. This was done in the era of Kovid-19 when people were looking for beds, oxygen and remdesivir. We demand an inquiry against Bhushan Subhash Desai who did this. It should be probed whether the money involved reached Matoshree? Bhatkhalkar then made the allegation while talking to reporters outside the assembly.
Bhatkhalkar also said that the current Industries Minister Uday Samant had announced that he would investigate the matter. Samant is one of the key aides of CM Shinde, whose rebellion brought down the BJP-backed Uddhav government.
However, barely three months later, Bhushan joined CM Shinde on stage and carried the saffron flag as the latter welcomed him into his party.
“He (Bhushan) joined us after seeing the creative and progressive work we are doing. Everyone has their own opinion. He joined us on his own accord. There was no pressure on him.
At the same time, Bhushan said, ‘It is Shinde who is taking forward the thoughts and dreams of Balasaheb. I trust him and have experienced how he works. I have taken this decision after seeing him and being inspired by his methodology.
Asked if there was any pressure on him because he had faced corruption charges in MIDC when his father was Industries Minister, Bhushan said that joining the Shinde Sena was his “personal choice”.
However, now the Uddhav Sena has targeted the Bhushan and Shinde-Fadnavis governments over the MIDC dispute.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and Uddhav’s son, Aditya Thackeray, in reference to the MIDC corruption allegations against Bhushan, said: “Those who want to go to the washing machine to clean themselves should go. But Subhash Desai is now are also with us and will not leave us no matter what happens.Bhushan was not with us and he can join whatever he wants.
Vaibhav Naik, another Uddhav Sena MLA, said, “Bhushan must be under pressure as a probe can be initiated against him for misusing his father’s ministerial position. He has not done any work for the party or Shiv Sena MLAs.”