Mumbai:
Bhaskar Jadhav, who was Maharashtra's minister of state for Urban Development minister till last week, has been appointed the state president of the Nationalist Congress Party.
Mr Jadhav had come under fire for the lavish wedding he hosted for his son and daughter in February when many parts of the state were facing severe drought. The wedding held in Chiplun, about 300 kilometres from Mumbai, included a palatial set measuring five lakh square feet, the buffet offered 60 choices; 22 helipads were built around the venue for the guests to reach. 100,000 people had been invited.
Voicing his displeasure, party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had then said that he got "sleepless nights" after seeing the images of the ostentatious display of wealth on television.
The BJP in Maharashtra today strongly condemned the NCP's move to appoint Mr Jadhav as the state party president. "Sharad Pawar has rubbed salt on the wounds of the farmers hit by drought," BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar said.
Mr Jadhav had, in his defence, said that some of the components of the wedding, like the stage and food, were sponsored by contractors. The admission got him into further trouble with the Income Tax department conducting raids at his residence.
Mr Jadhav succeeds Madhukar Pichad as the Maharashtra NCP chief. Mr Pichad was among the six ministers inducted into the state cabinet on Tuesday. Sources said that Mr Pawar wanted to revamp the party ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections.