Harshvardhan Patil. File.
| Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre
Days after quitting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Maharashtra minister Harshvardhan Patil joined the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) on Monday (October 7, 2024). The NCP patriarch welcomed Mr. Patil, Western Maharashtra’s sugar lobby leader, at a rally in Pune’s Indapur, the latter’s political turf.
Mr. Patil (61), who has been elected MLA four times from the Indapur Assembly constituency, wants to contest from the seat again. The constituency, which falls under the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, is a stronghold of the Pawar family. It is currently represented by Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the BJP alliance.
The NCP is likely to field incumbent Dattatray Bharne from the seat again. Speculation of Mr. Patil jumping ship arose after Mr. Ajit Pawar hinted that candidates who won seats in the last election would be given another opportunity to contest.
Mr. Patil, who also serves as the president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, said that his supporters wanted him to contest the upcoming State Assembly elections from Indapur. “In a democracy, people are more important than political parties,” he said.
At the Indapur rally, Mr. Pawar praised Mr. Patil for his “enduring dedication” to agricultural policy and rural development, highlighting the contributions made by both Mr. Patil 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. Harshvardhan has always been the first choice whenever a new leadership was needed for agricultural reforms. This decision is not just for [the benefit of] Indapur but for sugarcane farmers across Maharashtra and for the agriculture sector of the country,” he said.
“It is your [voters] responsibility to send him to Vidhan Sabha,” the Octogenarian said.
Mr. Patil has a long political track record, having served as the Minister of State for Agriculture and Marketing in the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the State during 1995-1999. He won his first Assembly election in 1995 as an independent candidate and later served in the Congress-NCP alliance government from 1999 to 2014, holding portfolios, including Cooperation and Parliamentary Affairs.
Sharing details of his discussion with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, Mr. Patil said, “I had a two-hour conversation with Mr. Fadnavis. I shared my struggles and he shared his. He offered alternatives but the people of Indapur have already made up their minds.”
In her address, Baramati MP Supriya Sule took a dig at the Ajit Pawar-led party over its poll symbol ‘clock’. She asked the crowd, “Is the watch really required? Where do you see time? On your watch or your mobile? Do you really need the watch?”
“This government is taking a commission of 40%. This 40% sarkar needs to go,” Ms. Sule said, pointing to the Pune Ring Road project’s cost escalation from ₹12,000 crore to ₹42,000 crore in three years.
Mr. Patil’s defection from the BJP comes at a time of growing tension within the ruling alliance. “Those who realised they won’t be fielded again are leaving the party. He may come to regret his choice in the future,” said BJP minister Chandrakant Patil, who was the guardian minister of Pune until it was handed over to Mr. Ajit Pawar after his party joined the NDA.
At the rally, Mr. Sharad Pawar indicated that former State Legislative Council chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, currently with Ajit Pawar’s party, may join the NCP (SP) on October 14.
“I received a phone call from someone asking me to visit on October 14, just like how I have visited Indapur now. I asked where and for what purpose. I was told it is for the same purpose as in Indapur. I asked where to visit?… Phaltan…. Understood? So the next stop is Phaltan. After that, most of the month is booked,” Mr. Pawar said.
On October 6, Mr. Nimbalkar expressed guilt over leaving Mr. Sharad Pawar’s party. He said he took the decision to protect his workers. Phaltan is the home ground of Mr. Nimbalkar, who has represented the constituency in 1995 as an Independent and as an NCP (undivided) member in 1999 and 2004.
Published – October 07, 2024 02:37 pm IST
