The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has stayed the appointment of Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, from holding any post in the party in Jalna district. This decision comes amid criticism from opposition parties slamming Pangarkar’s re-entry into the party.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Pangarkar joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar. Khotkar initially announced that Pangarkar, a former Shiv Sainik, had returned to the party and had been nominated as the chief of the Jalna assembly poll campaign. However, a statement from the Shiv Sena on Sunday clarified that if Pangarkar had been appointed to any party post in the district, the decision has now been stayed.
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 5 September 2017. Investigations by the Karnataka police, with assistance from agencies in Maharashtra, led to multiple arrests. Pangarkar, who served as a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001 and 2006, was arrested in August 2018 and subsequently granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on 4 September this year.
After being denied a ticket by the Shiv Sena in 2011, Pangarkar joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti.
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The opposition has seized on Pangarkar’s return to the Shiv Sena, criticising the ruling Mahayuti coalition’s actions.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole wrote on X, "Traitors support accused! Shrikant Pangarkar, suspected in journalist Gauri Lankesh's murder, joining Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena group ahead of the assembly elections is like ‘a cat acting as a witness for a rat’. The ATS investigation has revealed that Pangarkar funded three suspected Hindutva extremists to purchase explosives and weapons. Amidst the collapse of law and order under the Mahayuti, such inclusion of an accused tarnishes the state's image. It is unacceptable for the shameless Mahayuti to risk the state's reputation for political gain."
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed questioned the ruling alliance’s moral integrity, stating, "Shrikant Pangarkar, accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, has joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which is running the Maharashtra government in alliance with BJP and under PM @narendramodi Ji. Why do all corrupts, murderers, and rapists seem to find BJP and its alliances a safe haven? Morality? That’s something we surely can’t expect from them."
NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule also criticised the move, commenting, "Extremely shocking! The outgoing Chief Minister and his party are at the forefront of granting social prestige to criminals. This is one of the main reasons for the breakdown of law and order in this state... The faction of the ‘box government’ has sanctified the killer of renowned journalist Gauri Lankesh. This government has zero respect for the rule of law. Therefore, Maharashtra needs a government that rejects the 'box government' and respects the law."
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar took to X to draw parallels between the actions of Shiv Sena and the Congress, stating, "Gauri Lankesh murder accused has joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena! In the recently-concluded J&K elections, the Congress had fielded the supporter of the accused in the gang rape and murder of Asifa Bano — Kathua rape case! Do you see any difference between the two? BJP & Mahayuti = Congress & MVA It’s time to choose an alternative! Vote for VBA."
The Maharashtra assembly polls are scheduled for 20 November, with results to be declared on 23 November.