In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Deglur assembly by-election in Maharashtra’s Nanded district, former Nanded MP Bhaskar Patil Khatgaonkar, a relative of senior Congressman and Maharashtra minister Ashok Chavan, on Sunday joined the BJP to rejoin the Congress. left.
Mr Khatgaonkar, a former three-time MP, returned to the Congress, which he had left seven years ago with former MLA Omprakash Pokarn.
The development comes as a setback for the BJP ahead of the Deglur assembly by-polls scheduled for October 30.
The bypoll, which is expected to be fiercely contested, was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar in April this year due to complications related to COVID-19.
The ruling ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has fielded the deceased MLA’s son Jitesh Antapurkar, while the BJP has fielded former Shiv Sainik Subhash Sabne.
The Congress, especially Ashok Chavan, is leaving no stone unturned to maintain its party’s dominance in the Deglur assembly seat.
Mr Khatgaonkar had quit the Congress in 2014 after being dissatisfied with Mr Chavan after fielding his wife Amita Chavan from the Bhokar assembly constituency in Nanded ahead of the state assembly elections that year.
Mr Khatgaonkar had to give up the seat before the 2014 parliamentary election to make way for Mr Chavan, who eventually won the election.
no quid pro quo
He hoped that Mr Chavan would field him from the Bhokar seat as a vendetta in the assembly elections held later that year – something that never became more transparent to Mr. Khatgaonkar Chirag, who then joined the BJP. Were.
Commenting on his ‘ghar wapsi’, Mr Khatgaonkar said that he had buried the hat-trick with Mr Chavan and said that he was rejoining the Congress as he felt that his followers did not get justice in the BJP. Are getting.
Welcoming Mr. Khatgaonkar, Mr. Chavan said that his presence will strengthen the Congress not only in Nanded district but also in the Marathwada region.
Mr Chavan, a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was defeated by Prataprao Patil Chikhlikar of the BJP in his stronghold Nanded during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The presence of Prakash Ambedkar’s vote-division Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, which drove some Dalit-Muslim votes away from the Congress, as well as Mr. Patil-Khatgaonkar’s move to the BJP, is said to have worked for Mr. Chavan. has contributed. lost at that time.