Setback for BJP in Maharashtra: Former minister Harshvardhan Patil joins Sharad Pawar's NCP

Former Maharashtra minister Harshvardhan Patil joined the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) on Monday, just days after resigning from the BJP. Patil was inducted into the NCP in the presence of party chief Sharad Pawar. Patil, who previously represented the Indapur assembly seat in the Pune district, stated that his supporters wanted him to contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections from the same seat. "People are more important than political parties in a democracy," he said during his induction.

Patil, currently the president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, left the BJP last week, signaling his intent to return to the political fray. Indapur falls under the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule.

After meeting Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on October 3, Patil said the NCP chief encouraged him to join the party and contest the assembly elections. "He said he would get me elected," Patil claimed, further solidifying his switch to the Pawar-led NCP.

There had been widespread speculation about Patil's exit from the BJP, especially after NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar remarked that those who won their seats last time would likely be fielded again. Currently, Indapur is held by BJP's alliance partner NCP, and sitting MLA Dattatray Bharne is expected to be the party's candidate for the upcoming elections.

Patil, considered close to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, has a long political history, having been elected as an MLA from Indapur four times. He previously served as minister of state for agriculture and marketing in the Shiv Sena-BJP government from 1995 to 1999. After running as an independent in 1995, he joined the Congress in 2009 and served as minister for cooperation and parliamentary affairs during the Congress-NCP alliance government.

BJP state minister Chandrakant Patil last week said that Patil would regret his decision. "Those realising they will not be fielded again for the assembly polls are quitting the party," he remarked.

Assembly elections in Maharashtra are likely to be held in mid-November.