Pune: Following the announcement made by Rohit Tilak, vice-president of Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the recipient of the Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023, speculation is rife that the Congress state secretary may join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coming days.
The former National Students Union of India’s (NSUI) state president had previously contested the assembly elections twice on Congress ticket from Kasba assembly and got defeated.
When asked about BJP entry, Rohit said, “There is no truth in such statements. The Tilak national award is a non-political programme and the previous recipients have been people following different political ideologies. We have also invited Sharad Pawar for the function.”