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Lok Sabha elections 2019: Will he? Won’t he? Vikhe Patil’s BJP move suspense continues
Leaders close to him said Vikhe Patil, who is also the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, is in two minds, and may not quit the party before the Lok Sabha election results are announced.
While there was speculation that Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally on Friday, the senior Congress leader skipped the event.
Leaders close to him said Vikhe Patil, who is also the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, is in two minds, and may not quit the party before the Lok Sabha election results are announced.
As of now, the Congress is unlikely to initiate any action against the leader, as he told the party leadership that he was unable to stop his son from joining the BJP, since he wanted to contest a seat which was with the Nationalist Congress party (NCP) in the poll pact.
Last month, Vikhe Patil’s son Sujay quit the party and joined the BJP. The latter declared him as a candidate from the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency. Then Vikhe Patil had said it was his son’s personal decision, as the NCP refused to concede the Ahmednagar constituency to the Congress.
However, the whole episode came as a major embarrassment for his party. It is seen as a major setback for Vikhe Patil, as he is now been kept out of the party’s key meetings. There have been reports that Vikhe Patil has been helping his son in his election. The NCP, which has fielded a local legislator against Sujay, has lodged a complaint against Vikhe Patil for his activities against the former’s candidate.
A section of state leaders has reportedly sought action against the leader of Opposition for his failure to convince his son against joining the BJP. The leaders were expecting an action of at least divesting him from the statutory post of the leader of Opposition. All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge has supported him strongly in this matter, as he feels that action against Vikhe Patil will be a victory for Pawar, said a leader close to the sulking leader.
“He has not officially shared the dais with a BJP candidate, but his presence in the poll strategy is no more a secret. This is sending a wrong signal in other constituencies, making it difficult for other leaders to answer. It also shows the helplessness of the party leadership. How are we going to corner the government in the forthcoming monsoon session if Vikhe Patil continues to be the leader of the Opposition,” asked a senior party leader.
The Congress is believably hesitant to take action against Vikhe Patil, as it fears losing the post of the leader of Opposition in the lower house. Any action against the leader may result in the party losing the tag of the largest Opposition party, as the difference between the number of MLAs between the Congress and NCP is just one.
Vikhe Patil remained unavailable for a comment, despite repeated attempts. Sujay asserted his father was in the Congress. “There was no question of him attending the BJP rally on Friday, as he is and will remain in the Congress. He is campaigning for me, but it can’t be termed as anti-party activity.”
Congress spokesperson Ratnakar Mahajan said, “It is an unfortunate situation, but an appropriate decision will be taken by the party high command after the polls.”
