After a mass exodus before the Maharashtra Assembly Elections now Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) may witness ghar vapsi. Former deputy chief minister and cooperative sector baron Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil on Wednesday stunned NCP disclosing that he is still with the party and had never migrated to BJP with his son and former MP Ranjit Sinh Mohite-Patil in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election.
Mohite-Patil met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on the occasion of the annual general meeting of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute in Pune and exchanged pleasantries. NCP had distanced itself with Mohite Patil senior and his son during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Mohite-Patil told FPJ,'' I am in NCP. I had met Pawar for two to three occasions after the Lok Sabha election.'' He, however, further declined to divulge his future course of action.
NCP insiders, however, said that it was Mohite-Patil's complete u-turn because of BJP's failure to keep power. '' Mohite-Patil is associated with cooperative and private sugar mills which badly need financial help. BJP led government had recommended the loan from the National Cooperative Development Corporation but the proposal has been stayed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Therefore, he has no other option but to revive his rapport with Pawar by staying in NCP,'' a NCP leader from western Maharashtra said.
NCP and Pawar were hurt over Mohite-Patil's inability to restrain his son from joining BJP. Pawar also was displeased over Mohite-Patil's absence in the party's campaign in both Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Mohite-Patil's supporters openly worked for the BJP nominee Ranjeetsinha Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar who defeated NCP nominee Sanjay Mama Shinde.
During Lok Sabha campaign PM Narendra Modi's move to facilitate Mohite-Patil to recognize his contribution to the cooperative sector did not go down well in the NCP rank and file. Although Mohite-Patil did not officially join BJP unlike his son, he kept himself aloof from NCP's functioning.
In the run-up to Lok Sabha and assembly elections, over 35 NCP leaders including former ministers Padamsinh Patil and his son Rana Jagjit Singh, Madhukar Pichad and his son Vaibhav Pichad had deserted the party to join BJP. They argued that their decision was to expedite development in their respective constituencies on the assumption that BJP will keep power after assembly election.
NCP state unit president Jayant Patil had announced that it will take turncoats back into NCP on merit. He recently disclosed that many of the MLAs who had joined the BJP before the elections were in touch with the party.
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