With an eye on the assembly polls many big leaders from Congress and NCP are joining BJP. Large number of defections from Congress and NCP will certainly have an impact on both these parties in the assembly polls. On one hand, party workers and senior leaders are leaving NCP and joining BJP, on the other hand, NCP veterans are attacking other political parties. Ajit Dada Pawar questioned Raj Thackeray that why he has gone silent after ED inquiry? To which Raj Thackeray did not answer but NCP’s own leaders have answered why they are quitting Pawar‘s NCP and joining BJP.
When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad he said, “If leaders are quitting NCP to join BJP it won’t make a difference to the party. People vote for those leaders who work for their welfare. Party doesn’t come to an end if leaders quit the outfit.”
Senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Ganesh Naik on Wednesday joined BJP in the presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis. Navi Mumbai was the strongest fort held by NCP. However, after Ganesh Naik joining the BJP, the NCP seems to have lost the civic body. Ganesh Naik’s departure from NCP was expected as his son Sanjeev Naik had shifted loyalties a few days ago. Naik who belongs to the Agri community has dominated Thane politics for some time. Meanwhile, CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “Ganesh Naik would be guardian of Thane district.” It is clear indication of present Shiv Sena guardian minister Eknath Shinde‘s tenure would be over after election. This is what is making Shinde’s supporter upset since Naik’s announcement of entering BJP.
Congress leader Bhai Jagtap said, “If leaders are quitting Congress to join BJP then it won’t affect the party’s functioning. Leaders have achieved success after working for Congress. Congress has faced such kind of situation in the past and the outfit has come back strongly.“
Meanwhile, Harshvardhan Patil of Congress joined BJP to create a threat to Pawar’s empire in Baramati. Supriya Sule had lost in three assembly segments in the Lok Sabha elections but survived because of huge margin Harshvardhan managed in Indapur. He had supported NCP MP Supriya Sule to ensure her victory from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat this year in the hope that the Sharad Pawar-led party would back his candidacy in the upcoming Assembly polls from Indapur, a segment of the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. The four-time MLA from Indapur in Pune district had lost the 2014 Assembly elections by a slender margin to the NCP’s Dattatrey Bharne. The Congress and NCP had contested the 2014 elections separately. Harshvardhan’s exit is likely to be a major setback for the Congress as he has been a top leader of the party in the state. In 1995, 1999 and 2004 he was elected as an independent candidate while in 2009 he contested on a Congress ticket.
Patil along with his daughter Ankita, a member of Pune Zilla Parishad and his son Rajvardhan joined BJP. Patil served as minister of state for agriculture and marketing in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government during the 1995-99.
He won the 1995 Assembly election as an independent candidate. He served as minister during the Congress-NCP alliance government from 1999 to 2014.
He joined the Congress in 2009 and was handling the Cooperation and Parliamentary affairs portfolios. Fadnavis indicated that Patil would be BJP’s candidate from Indapur Assembly seat in next month’s election.
In a major setback to NCP chief Sharad Pawar an influential party lawmaker from Satara, Udayanraje Bhosale is all set to join BJP on September 14. Amid intense speculations of his joining BJP the Satara MP met Pawar at his residence in Pune. The meeting between two leaders came two days after Bhosale met CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. His cousin and NCP’s Satara MLA Shivendrasinh Bhosale had recently quit the opposition party to join BJP along with other legislators like Sandip Naik and Vaibhav Pichad.
