Maharashtra Assembly Election: With Maharashtra going to have assembly elections later this year, the trend of defections between various parties has intensified, with Sharad Pawar-led NCP (Sharad Pawar) emerging as the biggest beneficiary so far. Since April, five senior leaders of BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP have joined NCP (Sharad Pawar). The latest case is of Bhagyashree Atram, daughter of NCP minister Dharamrao Atram, who has joined Sharad Pawar’s party. After joining Sharad Pawar, Bhagyashree said, “I did not like that my father changed sides and he was giving false assurances of welfare to the public.”
Party changing going on since April
Defections in the NCP (Sharad) camp began ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in April. After being denied a ticket by the BJP, Dhairyashil Mohite Patil, nephew of former MP Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, joined the NCP (Sharad), which fielded him from the Madha constituency. The same month, NCP MLA Nilesh Lanke from Parner constituency in Ahmednagar district quit the party and joined the NCP (Sharad) and was fielded from the Ahmednagar seat. In the Lok Sabha elections, Lanke and Patil also defeated BJP candidates in their respective constituencies. The NCP (Sharad) won eight of the 10 seats it contested. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – comprising the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (Shiv Sena) – had a total tally of 30 out of 48 seats. Among the Mahayuti allies, the NCP proved to be the worst performer, winning only one seat against the BJP’s nine and Shinde Sena’s seven.
After the Lok Sabha elections in June, former Union minister Suryakant Patil returned to the NCP (Sharad) after a ten-year stint with the BJP. A month later, former state minister and BJP leader Madhavrao Kinhalkar, who previously represented the Bhokar assembly seat, joined Pawar’s party. Several other Mahayuti leaders hoping for tickets in the upcoming assembly elections have also joined the NCP (Sharad), or are trying to switch to its fold.
On July 17, NCP chief of Pimpri Chinchwad region Ajit Gavhane quit Ajit Pawar’s NCP and joined NCP (Sharad), he is expected to contest from Bhosari assembly constituency. On September 4, former BJP chief of Kolhapur district unit Samarjit Singh Ghatge, who was considered a staunch supporter of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, quit the BJP and joined NCP (Sharad). He is expected to contest from Kagal seat in Kolhapur district in the upcoming assembly elections. Former BJP MLA Bapusaheb Pathare, who has started his public relations campaign in Wadgaon Sheri assembly constituency, has already claimed that he will contest on NCP (Sharad) symbol. Recently, NCP MLA from Junnar Atul Benke met the NCP (Sharad) chief. They are using Sharad Pawar’s photos in their posters.
Jayant Patil, chief of the Maharashtra unit of NCP (Sharad), said that it is true that many people are contacting our party, we will include leaders from other political parties only after verifying their credentials. This kind of defection proves that the strength of Sharad Pawar, the pioneer of Maharashtra politics, has not diminished and he can do something surprising in the upcoming elections.