Maharashtra Congress working president Basavaraj Patil Murmukar has quit the grand old party, according to media reports. Basavaraj Patil is reportedly set to join Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) later in the day in the presence of state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bavankule and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
According to India Today, Patil had met Devendra Fadanvis at his residence today morning.
Notably, Nana Patole, the Maharashtra Congress state chief denied reports of Patil’s resignation, saying he did not receive any letter from Patil. “He is not active in the party. We are also hearing the news from the media that he has quit the party, but he has not communicated with us,” Business Today quoted Nana Patole saying.
Basavraj Patil is a two-term MLA from the Ausa constituency. He has also been a prominent Lingayat leader from Marathwada region. In 2019, Patil was defeated by BJP leader, Abhimanyu Pawar.
The former Maharashtra minister Basavaraj Patil quitting Congress follows a chain of resignations from Congress in Maharashtra. Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, ex-Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Milind Deora, and member of the parliamentary board of the Maharashtra Regional Congress Committee Baba Siddique quit also Congress right ahead of the upcoming crucial Lok Sabha Elections.
Ashok Chavan joined the BJP, while Milind Deora is now with Eknath Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena. Both the leaders have been nominated for the Rajya Sabha elections being held on 27 February.
Further, Baba Siddique has joined the NCP led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
Maharashtra sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha and 19 to the Rajya Sabha.
All about Basavraj Patil Murmukar
Basavaraj Patil, a resident of Murum in Umarga taluka of Dharashiv district, was elected for the first time in the 1999 assembly elections after which he became a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet.
Basavaraj Patil was the Rural Development Minister of Maharashtra from 1999 to 2004. Patil lost in the 2004 elections.
Later, Basavraj Patil won from Umarga assembly for the first time but then it was declared a reserved constituency. Therefore, the party nominated him from the Ausa constituency in the 2009 elections.
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Published: 27 Feb 2024, 03:59 PM IST