MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Maharashtra chief has hit the headlines over his son’s opulent wedding that involved sleek video invites, designer sets and a lavish ceremony monitored by police using drone-mounted cameras.
At least 30,000 guests, including the state’s entire cabinet led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, attended the wedding of Raosaheb Danve’s son Santosh, who is an MLA from Bhokardan in the Marathwada region that has been in the grips of a drought for two years now.
Santosh wedded Renu, the daughter of well-known Marathi musician Rajesh Sarkate, at the Jabinda Estate lawns on Thursday in Aurangabad where a team of art directors built a wedding set resembling a medieval-era palace. The food served included cuisines from all over India as well as Chinese dishes, reports said.
“We were all waiting for the last two years… when will Santosh get married,” Fadnavis told the gathering from the wedding stage.
At least one major road in the city was closed for the wedding, which was watched over by the local police using drone-mounted cameras.
The gala wedding received flak from social activist Anjali Damania, who questioned the source of funds for the event. “I am wondering where the money for such a lavish wedding comes from?” Damania said.
The opulence on show was reminiscent of the wedding of Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s daughter in Nagpur where at least 10 chartered or special flights with VIPs were flown in to the city in December.
Earlier, Andhra Pradesh mining baron Gali Janardan Reddy was reported to have spent Rs 500 crore on his daughter’s marriage. That show of wealth attracted the attention of tax officials who asked Reddy to explain the expenses.
For Santosh’s wedding, Danve sent out video invites that showed the would-be bride and groom romancing to the hit John Newman number Love Me Again. The video, which was posted by Santosh on Facebook, has been viewed more than 44,000 times and shared by hundreds.
With PTI inputs