Maharashtra: Four Opposition lawmakers resign, set to join BJP today

Three Nationalist Congress Party MLA while one Congress MLA submitted their resignation to Maharashtra state Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade on Tuesday and are all set to join the BJP on Wednesday.

NCP MLAs Sandeep Naik, Shivendraraje Bhosale and Vaibhav Pichad and Congress MLA Kalidas Kolamkar have resigned from the party and as MLA on Tuesday. They will join the BJP and likely are to contest on the BJP ticket in the upcoming the Maharashtra state Assembly polls. Sandeep Naik will join BJP along with his father and ex-minister Girish Naik and the 57 corporators of the NCP. Naik is the influential political personality from Navi Mumbai while Vaibhav Pichad is the son of the Madhukar Pichad who was the founder member of the NCP and close and trusted aid of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Girish Mahajan, senior BJP minister and close aid of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that there are 50 Opposition MLAs who want to join the BJP. "I have a list of these Opposition people who are eager to join the BJP. We are not poaching them but they themselves are approaching to us. They do not see any future with the Congress and the NCP, therefore, they want to move out," Mahajan said. Earlier the NCP Mumbai Unit president Sachin Ahir left the NCP and joined the Shiv Sena while NCP women wing president Chitra Wagh also resigned from the party and set to join the BJP.

Congress party's Prithviraj Chavan who is a former chief minister said that the Opposition MLAs are getting panicked and out of fear of Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate actions, they are joining the BJP and the Shiv Sena. "I have been in politics from a long time but never seen such blatant misuse of the government machinery to pressurise the Opposition MLAs and leaders. The ruling party leaders are calling the Opposition MLAs and threatening them with ED and income tax raids and even threatened to dig out the past decisions of these people terming them as a scam. We condemn this in strongest word," Chavan said.

Chavan further said that the BJP is using the Karnataka pattern before the state Assembly polls. "They do not follow ethics and not even trust democracy. Each passing day, they are murdering democracy and its procedure. They just want power," the former chief minister said.