Mumbai: Former Congress MLA from Jalna, Kailas Gorantyal, along with his supporters, officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. The induction ceremony took place at the BJP state office in Mumbai, where State President Ravindra Chavan warmly welcomed the new members.
Ashok Chavan, Atul Save, Danve Among BJP Leaders Present
Prominent leaders present at the event included senior BJP leader Raosaheb Patil-Danve, Minister for OBC and Bahujan Welfare Atul Save, former Chief Minister and MP Ashok Chavan, MLA Babanrao Lonikar, Jalna Rural District President and MLA Narayan Kuche, State General Secretary and MLA Sanjay Kenekar, and Media Department Head Navnath Ban, among others.
Ex-Congress Corporators, ZP, Panchayat Members Among New Entrants
Several former Congress corporators, as well as ex-members of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti, also joined the BJP in large numbers. The group included former Municipal Council President Sangita Gorantyal, youth leader Akshay Gorantyal, former corporators Mahavir Dhakka, Shikshadevi Dhakka, Jagdish Bhartiya, Vijay Chaudhary, Vinod Ratnaparkhe, Sangita Pajge, Anand Waghmare, and rural leaders such as sarpanch Govind Pawar, Sunil Chirakhe, Manohar Sulsule, Ambadas Londhe, taluka vice-president Santosh Devhade, former sarpanch Dnyaneshwar More, Balukaka Sirsat, Kishor Kawle, and former Panchayat Samiti member Samadhan Shejul.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar NCP Workers Also Switch Sides
Additionally, workers from Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction and the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction also switched to the BJP. Speaking at the event, Ravindra Chavan expressed delight over Gorantyal’s entry, describing him as a grassroots worker.
He emphasized that the MahaYuti government and BJP are committed to resolving issues in the Jalna region. Chavan noted that Gorantyal’s decision to join the BJP reflects his trust in the development-oriented politics of the party and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
