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BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil likely to join Sharad Pawar's NCP
In a move that has sparked political speculation, Patil removed all mentions of BJP from his social media profiles after a meeting with Sharad Pawar
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Mumbai: Harshvardhan Patil, a prominent BJP leader from Pune district, is expected to join Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party following a meeting with Pawar at his Mumbai residence on Thursday.
In a move that has sparked political speculation, Patil removed all mentions of BJP from his social media profiles after the meeting. When approached by journalists, he remained tight-lipped about the details but promised an announcement on Friday.
Patil, a seasoned politician, is known for his rivalry with Ajit Pawar, who split from Sharad Pawar's party last year to align with the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena coalition. Patil's political ambitions centre on the Indapur assembly constituency in Pune, which he represented four times before losing to NCP's Dattatraya Bharne in 2014.
Sources close to the matter suggest that Patil's meeting with Pawar was decisive, with the likelihood of him being named the party's candidate for the Indapur seat. This constituency is one of six that make up the Baramati Lok Sabha seat.
Patil's political journey has been marked by several shifts. He served as a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government from 1995 to 1999 before joining the Congress. His tenure with the Congress saw him hold ministerial positions in successive governments.
The 2014 elections saw Patil contest on a Congress ticket, but by 2019, he had switched allegiance to the BJP. That year, he backed Supriya Sule's Lok Sabha candidature, anticipating Pawar's support for the Indapur seat in the assembly polls. However, when NCP fielded Bharne again, Patil joined the BJP.
In the last assembly elections, Bharne, then representing the undivided NCP, narrowly defeated Patil. Following the NCP split in July of last year, Bharne aligned with Ajit Pawar's faction, which subsequently joined the Mahayuti government.
