Raju Narayan Todsam, the BJP MLA who represents Arni in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was on Tuesday night beaten up by his mother and wife at his birthday celebrations where he showed up with his ‘second wife’.
Police said Todsam and his ‘second wife’ Priya Shinde Todsam were accosted at the road show organised by his supporters to celebrate his birthday on Tuesday night.
The MLA’s first wife Archana and his mother came with several members of the public and attacked Priya in the vehicle they were travelling. When Todsam sought to intervene, he was also soundly thrashed by the two women and their supporters.
Video clips of the incident doing the rounds on social media show Archana and her mother-in-law pulling the other woman’s hair and scratching her. The victim was seen pleading for mercy after being punched and kicked.
Though the police booked the MLA, his mother and his two wives for unruly conduct they decided not to file charges against each other. According to party sources, the MLA agreed to provide for the upkeep of his wife and two children.
Sections of the BJP in Yavatmal have extended support to Archana who is a tribal school teacher.
BJP leaders in Mumbai said they took a grim view of Todsam’s conduct. He is unlikely to share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is due to participate in an event in the area on Saturday.
Todsam has a controversial past. Two years ago, he was caught on tape trying to extort money from a contractor. BJP leaders had then said that he would not be given a ticket in the 2019 assembly elections.