BJP candidates blame Vikhe-Patil for defeat

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil who had embarrassed the Congress by defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while he was the Opposition Leader in the state Assembly,

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil who had embarrassed the Congress by defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while he was the Opposition Leader in the state Assembly, is again in the middle of a controversy. This time, the BJP’s candidates from Ahmednagar district have held him responsible for their defeat in the Assembly elections held this year.

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Vikhe-Patil, who is also from Ahmednagar, was in-charge of the district for the BJP in the Assembly elections. The BJP had won five seats in 2014. Ahead of the elections, two MLAs – Vikhe-Patil and Vaibhav Pichad – defected to the party from the Congress and NCP, respectively. The BJP, however, won only three of the 11 seats in the district in 2019.

In a regional review meeting in Nashik, party candidates, including former minister Ram Shinde, Shivaji Kardile and Snehalata Kolhe, held Vikhe-Patil responsible for their defeat in elections. A meeting was convened in the party’s state office in Mumbai on Friday, which was attended by Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis, Vikhe-Patil, his son and party MP Sujay Vikhe-Patil and Shinde, Kardile, Kolhe and Pichad. Kardile and Kolhe alleged that Vikhe-Patil had encouraged independent candidates opposite them. Following complaints against him, the state BJP has formed a committee under organisational secretary Vijay Puranik to probe the allegations and submit a report.

Shinde said, “We put forward our grievances in front of our senior party functionaries in the meeting. We decided to formulate a committee under Puranik. Action will be taken as per the committee’s recommendations.”

Vikhe-Patil said, “Differences exist in every party, but they should not be discussed in front of the media.’’ He further said that he had put forward his side in front of senior party leaders and they would take a decision.

A senior BJP functionary said the party’s state leadership has advised both the sides to keep their differences aside and fight the upcoming district council elections together. A meeting has also been called in Ahmednagar on Saturday to discuss party strategy for the elections, he added.