Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's BJP embrace may cost Congress dear
On Tuesday, former leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, whose son Dr Sujay, has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Ahmednagar as a BJP nominee, formally resigned as a Congress MLA.
Ayaram, gayaram season may be upon us with political loyalties due to undergo a change before the Maharashtra assembly elections later this year.
On Tuesday, former leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, whose son Dr Sujay, has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Ahmednagar as a BJP nominee, formally resigned as a Congress MLA. Vikhe Patil, who represents Shirdi in the state assembly, is scheduled to join the BJP and be inducted into the state cabinet soon. More Congress MLAs, including Abdul Sattar (Sillod), Kalidas Kolambkar (Wadala), Jaykumar Gore (Maan) and Bharat Bhalke (Mangalwedha- Pandharpur), are also said to be on their way to the BJP.
This will push the Congress strength in the legislature further down from the present 42, putting its status as the principal opposition party in jeopardy. The NCP, which had a bench strength of 41, has seen one legislator Jaydutt Kshirsagar defect to the Shiv Sena while its MLA from Malshiras, Hanmant Dolas, passed away recently. Vikhe Patil had resigned from his post as the opposition leader after the Lok Sabha polls.
On Monday, Vikhe Patil claimed he was feeling "suffocated" in the Congress and added he was amenable to joining the BJP. Vikhe Patil said a decision on his induction into the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet would be taken by the party. Sattar, who had rebelled against the Congress, after being denied a nomination for the Lok Sabha from Aurangabad, claimed around eight to 10 Congress legislators were in touch with the BJP and also attacked the Congress state leadership.
However, sources said an impediment in the entry of these legislators in the BJP was their assembly constituencies being part of the Shiv Sena's quota.
Sachin Sawant, general secretary, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary and spokesperson, said Vikhe Patil's decision to resign as a Congress MLA was "unfortunate". "However, the Congress will rise strongly. It is a party with a 134-year legacy and a few desertions will not affect it," he claimed.