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After desertions, NCP leaders now shun party’s Shiv Swarajya Yatra in Maharashtra
Shiv Swarajya Yatra, currently passing through various parts of Maharashtra, was meant to expose the state government’s failure and inform the electorate about “misdeeds” of BJP and Shiv Sena
The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Shiv Swarajya Yatra, currently passing through various parts of Maharashtra, was meant to expose the state government’s failure and inform the electorate about “misdeeds” of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena. Instead, it is spending energy on targeting leaders, who were once with the NCP and have now either left the party or are on their way to jump the ship.
Apart from defections, another problem nagging the NCP is that many senior leaders have been shunning NCP’s yatra, as its passes through various parts of Maharashtra. In Osmanabad, Padmasinh Patil (a close associate of NCP chief Sharad Pawar) and his son Rana Jagjit Sinh stayed away from the yatra, while in Nashik, Chhagan Bhujbal did not attend it.
When the yatra reached Satara on Wednesday, party member of Parliament (MP) Udayanraje Bhosale and Maharashtra legislative council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar also skipped it, triggering speculations that these leaders are on their way to join the BJP.
Udayanraje’s absence was conspicuous as the party leaders had met him and requested that he should lead the yatra as it entered the district from Solapur.
Speaking on the series of absence, NCP leader and MP from Shirur, Amol Kolhe, said, “Those who could not make it to the yatra are absent are due to personal reasons.”
Reacting to the desertions, NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil said that those who left the party have no self-respect. He also accused the chief minister of lowering political standards in the state. “We have no regrets about those who left the party. Some of them have left the party in anticipation of a ministerial birth in the cabinet. However, they will soon realise their mistake,” said Patil, while hinting at legislator Shivendraraje Bhosale, who recently quit the NCP.
Meanwhile, a senior BJP leader said that many senior leaders will join the BJP in the presence of home minister Amit Shah either on September 1 or 5. Shah is likely to attend BJP’s yatra at Solapur on September 1 and also the party’s event in Mumbai on September 5.
Among those likely to join the BJP include former NCP MP from Kolhapur Dhananjay Mahadik, Padmasinh Patil and Udayanraje Bhosale, who represent Lok Sabha from Satara. Nimbalkar too has expressed willingness to join the BJP while seeking three seats – one for himself and two for supporters. Padmasinh Patil and Nimbalkar are close associates of Sharad Pawar and Patil is also a relative of senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar.
