Pratap Sarnaik
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From the archives of The Times of India Nitin Yeshwantrao
MAHARASHTRA
The sand white Porsche Cayenne zooming down the streets of Thane inspires instant awe. The onlookers’ envious gaze, though, does not bother the luxury SUV’s occupant, Pratap Sarnaik, the rich and rakish Shiv Sena MLA whose business investments in real estate, advertising and a string of high-end hotels in Thane are estimated to exceed a hundred crores. Sarnaik’s rise has been meteoric. Son of a proof-reader with a popular Marathi daily, the 48-yearold Sarnaik is a first generation politician-businessman who has dabbled in many small businesses like vending omelettes and scrambled eggs in Dombivli in the late 1980s to being a small - time construction contractor. However, his businesses bloomed drastically as he stepped up the political ladder. The Sena MLA is at present chairman of Vihang Infrastructure which has stakes in constructing high-end residential and commercial properties in Thane. With a turnover in crores, Sarnaik’s firm, named after his elder son and Sena corporator Vihang, is also in the hospitality business and owns the glitzy Vihang Inn hotel along the Ghodbunder road. Locals estimate that Sarnaik earns close to a million rupees a month from just the lease rent of commercial buildings and shops located in the city’s core business area.
