In a setback to the ruling BJP ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls, Raje Samarjeetsinh Ghatge, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Kolhapur who recently quit the saffron party, joined the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Tuesday.

Forty-one-year-old Samarjeetsinh Ghatge is the royal descendant Raje Samarjeetsinh Vikramsinh Ghatge, who was a two-time MLA from Kagal constituency in Kolhapur district. 

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Samarjeetsinh Ghatge is the Chairman of the Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Cooperative Sugar Factory, the Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Milk & Agro Products Co. He is also controlling several institutions in Kolhapur district.

Once considered close to deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Samarjeetsinh Ghatge joined the NCP (SP) in the presence of Sharad Pawar.

Samarjeetsinh Ghatge’s entry to the NCP (SP) came after Sharad Pawar -- who is currently on a three-day tour of the sugar-rich western Maharashtra – visited Kagal residence of Samarjitsinh and his uncle Shrimant Raje Pravinsinh Ghatge and spoke to the family members over breakfast on Tuesday morning.

Talking to media persons after his meeting with Pawar, Ghatge said: “We discussed various things at the meeting. I have taken a decision to work under the guidance of Pawar Saheb”.

Samarjeetsinh Ghatge is likely to be fielded as the NCP (SP) candidate from Kagal constituency against the Ajit Pawar-led NCP nominee Hasan Mushrif.

 Samarjeetsinh Ghatge had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 elections as an independent candidate against Hasan Mushrif of the united Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar. Mushrif had defeated Samarjeetsinh Ghatge by a margin of 28133 votes in the polls. Mushrif, who is a five-time MLA from Kagal in Kolhapur district, parted ways with Sharad Pawar and joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP after the parent party split vertically in July last year. Mushrif is currently a Cabinet minister in the BJP-led Maha Yuti government.

Samarjeetsinh Ghatge’s late father Vikramsinh Ghatge was a  two-time MLA from Kagal.

Welcoming Samarjeetsinh Ghatge’s entry to her party, NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule expressed her happiness over the development and said: “Ghatge  is a diamond. We know his value”.

On his part, Samarjitsinh Ghatge announced on X: “New Leap, New Challenges”, while calling upon his supporters to witness his cross-over to the NCP (SP) at a rally to be held in the evening at Kagal later in the evening.