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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Sanjay Kakade given west Maharashtra responsibility, but no BJP ticket
Another reason for Kakade to stay put with the party could be to field his son-in-law Rohan Deshmnukh from Madha Lok Sabha constituency
Sanjay Kakade, associate member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a Rajya Sabha member, will not be joining the Congress, as announced earlier.
Kakade met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday, for the second time in a week, and expressed his willingness to continue in the BJP after the party assured him of a “larger responsibility” in western Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha polls.
Kakade held talks with Fadnavis at a programme on Friday, where the NCP’s state women’s unit chief, Bharati Pawar, joined the BJP.
Fadnavis confirmed that Kakade is not going anywhere. “Sometime back, Sanjay Kakade was unhappy in the BJP over some local reasons. However, after meeting me, he is also of the opinion that local issues are to be sorted out at the local level. So, he has decided to stay with the BJP,” said Fadnavis.
According to inside sources from the BJP,another reason for Kakade to stay put with the party could be to field his son-in-law Rohan Deshmnukh from Madha Lok Sabha constituency.Rohan is son of Subhash Deshmukh, BJP leader from Solapur and cabinet colleague of Devendra Fadnavis, and is married to Kakade’s daughter. Rohan’s name is being pushed after Nationalist Congress Party announced Sanjay Shinde as Madha candidate on Friday. Earlier, BJP was also exploring possibility of fielding Kakade’s wife Usha from Baramati though her name has now been put on back seat.
The chief minister also spoke about a larger responsibility for Kakade saying, “I have asked Kakade to take the responsibility for the Lok Sabha seats in western Maharashtra and campaign for our candidates to win.”
“We have all decided to work together instead of labelling some workers as ‘old’ and ‘new’ by dividing the party,” said Kakade after meeting the chief minister.
Ten days ago, after BJP turned down his request for a Lok Sabha ticket, Kakade announced his plans to join the Congress. However, the Congress too denied him a ticket as party loyalists opposed the move.
