Dr Archana Patil-Chakurkar, daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader and Lok Sabha’s former Speaker Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, on Saturday joined the ruling BJP in the run-up Lok Sabha polls, by saying she was influenced by the party’s women ideology.

Dr Archana Patil, whose husband Shailesh Patil Chandurkar  is the Congress' state secretary, joined the BJP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule

Talking to media persons after her entry into the ruling party, Dr Patil said: I have long been involved in social work. I had worked with Shivraj Patil saheb…. I have been greatly influenced by the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam brought in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP gives equal opportunity to women... I am joining the BJP for taking up cause of women”

Dr Archana Patil, who is the chairperson of Lifecare Hospital and Research Centre at Udgir, is a known name in Latur district, the home turf of senior Congress leader and late chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and her own father-in-law Shivajirao Patil-Chakurkar. 

“I have worked at the grassroots level in Latur. . I was never officially in the Congress. I will work at the grassroots level with the BJP. I joined the BJP because its ideology has a great influence on me,” Dr Patil said.

The BJP is currently holds the Latur (SC) seat, a seat it had won for the second time in 2014 and retained it in 2019 when party candidate Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare trounced Machindra Kamat of the Congress by a huge margin of 2,89,111 votes.

With Dr Patil’s entry to its fold, it remains to be seen if the BJP will nominate her as its candidate in place of the sitting MP Sudhakar Shrangare.

Dr Patil’s father and veteran Congress leader Shivraj Patil had been a seven-time MP from Latur. 

Apart from being a Minister of State for Defence and a  Minister of State for Defence in the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi headed Congress governments, he was the Home Minister in the Dr Manmohan Singh -led UPA government. He was the Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996.

He also worked as the Punjab Governor and Administrator  of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.

The BJP bagged the Latur (SC) seat for the first time in 2004  when its candidate  Rupatai Nilangekar-Patil, daughter-in-law of former chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar defeated Shivraj Patil by 30,891 votes.