Pune: Harshwardhan Patil Joins NCP (SP), Says 'Secretly Helped' Supriya Sule In Lok Sabha Elections To Become Baramati MP (VIDEO)

Harshwardhan Patil, former BJP leader and cabinet minister, has made a shocking revelation that he secretly helped Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha election to become the MP from Baramati. At that time, Patil was with the BJP. A sugar lobby leader from western Maharashtra, Patil is keen to contest the election from the Indapur assembly constituency in Pune. Harashwardhan Patil has now joined the NCP Sharad Pawar NCP (SP) faction in the presence of Sharad Pawar on Monday. The party has hinted at giving him a ticket from the Indapur constituency, but the official announcement will be made after the seat-sharing agreement of the MVA.

A few months ago, Lok Sabha elections were held, and the MVA delivered an impressive performance, winning 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. Supriya Sule defeated Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, in the election by a huge margin. "Supriya has been elected as MP four times. Three times I helped her in some way, contributing to her victories, but in the last Lok Sabha election, my involvement was invisible," Patil revealed.

Moreover, he added, "I have worked alongside Sharad Pawar for 15 years. Jayant Patil had offered me a place in the NCP SP several times, but after the strong request of party workers, I am joining NCP SP."

“Lies are believed quickly, but they don’t last long. The truth may take time, but it endures,” Patil said, explaining his departure from the BJP. He also shared details of a lengthy discussion he had with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

“I had a two-hour conversation with Fadnavis. I shared my struggles, and he shared his. He offered alternatives, but the people of Indapur had already made up their minds. Our pain was elsewhere, but that pain has now been relieved,” Patil said in a cryptic message aimed at leaders from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP.

Furthermore, NCP SP State President Jayant Patil indirectly declared Harshwardhan's candidacy from Indapur. He remarked that Harshwardhan should take up the responsibility (shivdhanushya) of the Indapur election.

Sharad Pawar welcomed Harshwardhan's induction into the party and praised him. He also hinted at appointing him as a cabinet minister after the election. "We need achievers, experienced individuals, and people with administrative knowledge in the party. Your (party workers') task is to send him to the Vidhan Sabha, and my job is to give him responsibility for Maharashtra."

Addressing the rally, Sharad Pawar praised Patil for his dedication to agricultural policy and rural development, highlighting the significant contributions made by both Harshwardhan and his father, former Baramati MP Shankarrao Patil.

"We may have been in different parties, but when it came to the welfare of Maharashtra’s farmers, we always worked together. Harshwardhan has always been the first choice whenever new leadership was needed for agricultural reforms. This is not just a decision for Indapur, but for sugarcane farmers across Maharashtra and the agricultural sector of the entire country," said Pawar.

BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis avoided commenting on Patil's induction, telling a media person to "tell him something new," as he was already aware of Patil’s move.

At the induction event, former Home Minister Vijay Singh Mohite Patil, MP Dhairyashil Mohite Patil, Supriya Sule, MP Amol Kolhe, and Dhangar leader Uttamrao Jankar were present.