Maharashtra government clears loan for ex-Congressman Sangram Thopte's sugar mill

Mumbai, Aug 26 (PTI) The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a loan of Rs 409 crore for the Rajgad cooperative sugar factory which is controlled by BJP leader and former Congress MLA Sangram Thopte.

Sources said that deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar opposed the proposal, arguing that despite government assistance since the time of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, the factory in Bhor tehsil was continuously struggling and was not viable.

Thopte joined the BJP in April.

The `margin money loan' is provided by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) after the state government provides a guarantee.

Notably, the Thoptes, who were with the Congress for decades, are considered to be the rivals of the Pawar family in Pune district politics.

Sangram Thopte's former constituency Bhor is situated in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. Thopte's father Anantrao Thopte and Sharad Pawar were known to be arch-rivals.

But after Ajit Pawar split the NCP and his wife Sunetra Pawar contested the Lok Sabha election from Baramati against Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule in 2024, the senior Pawar tried to mend bridges with the Thopte family.

While Sule won the election, Sangram lost his seat in the subsequent assembly elections. PTI MR KRK