Anil Deshmukh: The man once wooed by Uddhav may face the axe this time

This is a fallout of the February 25 bomb scare outside Antilla, the South Mumbai residence of the Reliance chairman, Mukesh Ambani

The polling for the Maharashtra elections in 1995 had been completed, and the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seemed to be within striking distance of power. But there were apprehensions that the alliance could fall short of the half-way mark. Hence, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav toured Maharashtra with a ginger group of Shiv Sena leaders to solicit support from independent candidates with a high probability of being elected.

Among those brought on board by Uddhav was 45-year-old Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh, who was elected as an independent from Katol in Nagpur.

In 1995, Deshmukh, who had launched his political career