Viral Rs 500 crore audio clip fuels BJP-Shiv Sena rift in Maharashtra; Fadnavis orders forensic test

A viral audio clip about a Rs 500 crore transaction has triggered a fierce war of words in Maharashtra between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, the two partners in India's ruling alliance in the state. The clip is claimed to discuss money being sent from the BJP through the Shiv Sena, and state politics has heated up around it.

The audio was released by Manoj Jarange Patil, who campaigns for reservation for the Maratha community. In the recording, an unidentified woman can be heard claiming that Rs 500 crore was sent to him from the BJP through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde. Whether any money actually changed hands, and if so where it went, remains unanswered.

Jarange Patil himself has denied asking for or receiving Rs 500 crore. But Shrikant Shinde, whose name has surfaced as the alleged conduit for BJP money before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election, is now at the centre of the controversy.

The Shiv Sena led by Shrikant's father, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sees the allegation as a conspiracy against him. The BJP, the alliance's senior partner, also believes a conspiracy lies behind attempts to link the party to the money.

Shiv Sena leader and former minister Ramdas Kadam has alleged that a section of the BJP is conspiring to finish Eknath Shinde politically. On Friday he named BJP legislative council members Pravin Darekar and Prasad Lad, and showed a photograph of Lad eating together with Jarange Patil.

Darekar and Lad hit back, saying the BJP would not accept being placed in the dock in this manner. Addressing Kadam, they said he should not turn into Sanjay Raut — the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader under Uddhav Thackeray who frequently criticises the BJP.

Lad warned that who backed Jarange Patil against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from behind the scenes would soon come out, and that the BJP would give a fitting reply. Denying the allegation in Delhi, Eknath Shinde said he had neither given nor taken Rs 500 crore.

Earlier this week, at a rally in Beed, Jarange Patil had alleged that whispers inside the BJP claimed Rs 500 crore had been given to him through Shrikant Shinde. At a press conference on Thursday he played the audio clip, but did not identify the three or four people heard speaking in the recording.

Eknath Shinde said Jarange Patil should not have made such a claim without verifying it first, and that any proof he holds should be handed to the investigating agencies. His Shiv Sena has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the episode.

Chief Minister Fadnavis has meanwhile announced an investigation. After a delegation from the Shinde camp met him on Friday, he ordered a forensic examination of the audio clip, remarking that everyone has the same question — why these conversations have surfaced now, after two and a half years.

On Saturday Shrikant Shinde mocked the allegation, saying the question in Jarange Patil's mind had also arisen in his own, and he had now set out in search of it; they had been discussing what Rs 500 crore in cash would look like and how many vehicles it would take to transport it.

Lad later moved to settle the dispute, saying Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant had spoken to him after discussions with Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis, and that the matter had since been resolved. He blamed Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut for trying to create a rift between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. All eyes are now on the forensic test and the investigation.