Sanjay Kaka Patil, a ruling NCP legislator and an arch rival of State Home RR Patil, on Tuesday resigned from the Maharashtra legislative Council and joined the BJP, on the heels of a disclosure made by senior Opposition party leader Gopinath Munde on Sunday night that he intended to poach two ruling party leaders within a week.
Apart from resigning from the NCP, Patil also formally tendered his resignation as a member of the State legislative Council, to Upper House chairman Shivajrairao Deshmukh.
In his resignation, Patil attributed his decision to quit the NCP to the harassment he faced at the hands of a minister. Though he did not name RR Patil, he was referring to the State Home Minister.
Announcing his decision to quit the NCP, Patil said in the Upper House, “I have been facing problems within the party. A senior minister in the party has long been harassing me for some time. He is out to end my political career”.
Patil’s decision to quit the NCP and join the BJP came as a vindication for Munde, who had on Sunday night disclosed at a public rally of “Maha-Yuti” (Opposition’s grand alliance) at Dombivli that he was intending to poach at least two NCP leaders to his party fold within a week.
Munde’s disclosure at the “Maha-Yuti” rally had come as a retaliation to the ruling Democratic Front’s successful poaching of two sitting Shiv Sena MPs Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Ganesh Dudhgaonkar, from Shirdi and Parbhani lok Sabha constituencies respectively. While Wackchure has formally the Congress, Dudhgaonkar announced his entry to the NCP on Saturday. The Congress and NCP are fielding Wackchure and Dudhgaonkar from Shirdi and Parbhani constituencies respectively in the forthcoming lok Sabha polls.
Patil’s resignation from the NCP and entry to the BJP has come as a blow to the Sharad Pawar-led party in its stronghold of western Maharashtra. Speculation is rife in the State political circles that the BJP is now in the process of weaning three senior NCP functionaries from the region – former minister Ajit Ghorpade, Rajendra Deshmukh and Vilas Jagtap – to its fold.
Talking to media persons on Tuesday afternoon, Munde said that his party had been in touch with the disgruntled NCP MlC for some months.
“After we came to know that he was leading a suffocated existence in the NCP, we got in touch with and held prolonged deliberations. After our talks with him, he decided to join the BJP…. He is a prize catch for us,” Munde said.
“We got in touch with him and them after much-deliberations and talks, Patil decided to join forces with us....he is a prized politician,” Munde said.
Queried if the BJP would field him as its candidate from Sangli in the lok Sabha polls, Munde said: “Patil will now begin stint with us as an activist like all of us....he is indeed a formidable political face. The party-high command will decide on whether to field him as a candidate from Sangli lok Sabha constituency”.
On poaching Patil from the NCP fold, Munde said: “They (DF parters) weaved away two Sena leaders to their fold. Hence the entry of Patil to the BJP should be seen as a sweet revenge.
An erstwhile Congressman, Patil contested the 1999 State Assembly polls from Tasgaon in Sangli district and lost to NCP’s R R Patil by a narrow margin of 3497 votes. In 2009, he once again contested against R R Patil from Tasgaon constituency as an Independent candidate and lost.
However, after he joined the NCP subsequently, senior party and Rural Development Jayant Patil, also a RR Patil detractor, had helped Patil become the member of the Maharashtra legislative Council.