Rupali Chakankar and Ashok Kharat (IMAGE: X)
Rupali Chakankar resigned as the NCP women’s wing president on Friday, facing heat over her alleged ties with arrested astrologer Ashok Kharat. This move comes just a week after she stepped down as chairperson of the state women’s commission.
Chakankar said she spoke with Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Sunetra Pawar earlier in the day before handing in her resignation.
She posted on X, “Right from the start of the Kharat case, I’ve made my position clear. I have no connection—direct or indirect—with his financial dealings or any wrongdoing. The investigation will reveal everything, but it hurts to see baseless allegations thrown at me.”
She also said she’d already asked the authorities to keep the investigation impartial. “I’ve told the chief minister, deputy chief minister, and Director General of Police that the Kharat case needs a fair inquiry,” she wrote.
Plenty of NCP members from Nashik, Ahilyanagar, and other districts had reached out to Sunetra Pawar, pushing for Chakankar’s removal. They felt her “association” with Kharat was hurting the party’s reputation.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare also accused Chakankar, saying she had previously cleared music director Anu Malik in a sexual harassment case, and later her son appeared in a movie linked to him.
“Anu Malik got a clean chit, and then Soham Chakankar, Rupali Chakankar’s son, got a role in his film,” Andhare claimed.
Malik pushed back, saying he hadn’t hired Chakankar’s son at all. He said the National Commission for Women cleared him first, followed by the Maharashtra Women’s Commission.
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