Are some senior Congress leaders on their way out of the party in Maharashtra? State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil has created quite a stir by saying that one of the five newly appointed working presidents of the Maharashtra Congress could join the BJP soon. The Assembly elections in Maharashtra are three months away and speculation about their party leaders possibly jumping ship will be a cause for concern to the Congress.
After the success of BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, there are reports of several Congress leaders being in touch with BJP leaders. The first prominent leader to jump ship and join the BJP was Maharashtra Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. Now, speculation is rife that six Congress MLAs could soon join the saffron party.
Who Is Chandrakant Patil Hinting At?
Following Chandrakant Patil’s statement, the buzz in political circles is that the man Patil was referring to as likely to join BJP is Congress MLA from Sangli, Vishwajeet Kadam. Kadam was made a working president of the Congress party in Maharashtra just a few days ago.
Speaking to Quint Hindi however, Kadam described Patil’s statement as ridiculous. He said, “My father Patangrao Kadam was in Congress for 40 years and I am also a true soldier of the party. I will remain with the Congress.”
Kadam also tried to put an end to the speculation about his political future by tweeting a picture of him meeting UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
But can the Congress party keep its flock together in Maharashtra over the next three months till the Assembly election? It’s definitely something worth watching out for.
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