In a dramatic late-night cabinet reshuffle, Maharashtra’s Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate was stripped of his portfolio and reassigned to the Sports and Youth Welfare Department, alongside Minority Development and Auqaf, following a viral video showing him playing an online rummy game during a legislative session. The General Administration Department (GAD) issued the notification on July 31, 2025, appointing Sports Minister Dattatray Bharne as the new Agriculture Minister.

Kokate, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Sinnar, Nashik, faced intense backlash after NCP (SP) leaders Rohit Pawar and Jitendra Awhad shared footage of him engrossed in “Junglee Rummy” during the monsoon session. A probe reportedly confirmed he played for 18-22 minutes, contradicting his claim of a fleeting 10-15 second pop-up ad. Kokate denied the allegations, threatening legal action against the opposition for defamation and insisting he’d resign only if proven guilty.

The rummy row wasn’t Kokate’s first misstep. Earlier in 2025, he sparked outrage by likening farmers to beggars, alleging they misused Re 1 crop insurance and defaulted on loans for lavish spending. His remarks, including calling the government a “beggar,” drew sharp criticism from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who deemed them “inappropriate.” Kokate’s February conviction for a 1995-97 document forgery case, involving fraudulent flat acquisitions, further tarnished his image, though a stay preserved his Assembly seat.

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The reshuffle, seen as a face-saving move by the Mahayuti alliance, followed pressure from activists like Chhava Sanghatna, who demanded Kokate’s ouster after NCP workers assaulted their members over the rummy controversy. Bharne, an NCP MLA from Indapur, Pune, and a close aide of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, steps into the critical agriculture role amid Maharashtra’s agrarian challenges, including farmer suicides. Critics, including Shiv Sena’s Ambadas Danve, called the reassignment an “eyewash,” arguing it sidesteps true accountability.

Kokate’s exit marks another blow for the NCP, with Dhananjay Munde’s earlier resignation over a murder case adding to the party’s woes. As Maharashtra’s political landscape shifts, the reshuffle underscores the high stakes of public conduct in governance.

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