In a significant development, senior Maharashtra minister and five-time Sinnar MLA Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the state cabinet. This move comes after a Nashik sessions court upheld his two-year prison sentence in a nearly three-decade-old forgery case related to the illegal allotment of a government flat.
Political Journey Marred by Legal Troubles
Manikrao Kokate's political career has been a long and winding one, marked by frequent party switches. He began his journey with the undivided Shiv Sena, later moved to the Congress, and finally aligned with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) during the party's dramatic split in 2023. Following the Mahayuti coalition's victory in the 2024 state elections, Kokate was rewarded with a ministerial berth and was initially given the crucial Agriculture portfolio.
However, his tenure as Agriculture Minister was fraught with controversy from the start. In February 2025, he sparked outrage by comparing the government's Re 1 crop insurance scheme to alms given to beggars. He stated, "Even beggars do not accept one rupee in alms but the government is giving crop insurance at this price." This statement drew immediate ire from farmers' groups across Maharashtra.
A String of Controversies and the 'Rummy Row'
The controversy around the insurance scheme deepened when officials revealed that over four lakh applications under it had been rejected due to irregularities. While Kokate admitted some applicants had falsely shown non-agricultural land as farmland, he defended the scheme, insisting it would not be scrapped.
In April 2025, Kokate again angered the farming community by accusing them of deliberately defaulting on crop loans in anticipation of government waivers. He claimed farmers were not investing in their lands and were instead waiting for loan write-offs. The persistent controversies led to his removal from the Agriculture Ministry on August 1, 2025. He was then given the charge of the Sports and Minority Affairs departments.
His troubles did not end there. Just months later, in July 2025, a video surfaced that appeared to show Kokate playing an online card game, rummy, inside the Legislative Council. The video was shared by NCP(SP) MLA Rohit Pawar. Kokate denied the allegations, claiming he was trying to access YouTube to follow Assembly proceedings and that the game app was pre-installed on the phone. This 'rummy row' further tarnished his public image.
The Forgery Case: A 30-Year-Old Legal Battle
The conviction that ultimately led to his resignation stems from a case filed in 1995. The complaint was lodged by former minister and three-time Congress MLA Tukaram Dighole, who had been defeated by Kokate in the 1999 Assembly elections. Dighole accused Kokate and his brother, Sunil, of forging documents to secure two flats in the Nirman View Apartments on College Road in Nashik's Yeolekar Mala area.
The prosecution argued that the Kokate brothers falsely claimed to belong to the Low-Income Group (LIG) and declared they owned no other property. This allowed them to illegally obtain the flats under the Chief Minister's 10% discretionary housing quota. Investigations later confirmed that the documents submitted for the allotment were forged.
In February 2025, a Nashik district court found Manikrao Kokate and his brother guilty, sentencing them to two years of rigorous imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 each. Kokate challenged this conviction in the sessions court. However, on Tuesday, December 17, 2025, the Nashik sessions court upheld the district court's verdict, confirming the two-year sentence. The court did, however, set aside the order directing him to hand over the flat to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). Kokate has now appealed against this verdict in the Bombay High Court.
The political fallout was swift. Following the court's decision, Kokate was first divested of his Sports and Minority Affairs portfolios on Wednesday, December 18. He subsequently submitted his resignation from the state cabinet on Thursday, December 19. His membership in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is now also in jeopardy due to the conviction.
This case marks a dramatic fall for a politician who had cultivated a polished public image over decades. It also poses a fresh challenge for the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, which now must deal with the aftermath of having a convicted minister in its ranks.
