Leading member of the Maharashtra Congress Padmakar Valvi defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, dealing a serious blow to the party. In Mumbai, party leader Ashok Chavan and state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule were present at the event held for Valvi`s induction into the saffron party, reported ANI.
According to the report, Valvi`s defection came at a critical moment, as Rahul Gandhi`s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is about to arrive in the Nandurbar region of Maharashtra on Tuesday. Valvi, a well-known member of the Congress from the tribal-dominated area of Nandurbar, had represented the area as an MLA three times.
In the previous Congress-NCP government, Valvi served as a minister and was a renowned Congress politician in North Maharashtra, the report added.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Padmakar Valvi joins BJP, in the presence of state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and party leader Ashok Chavan, in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/1EffzonleZ
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2024
Valvi`s exit from the party follows a string of departures from the Maharashtra Congress in recent years, the most recent being Basavaraj Patil`s shift to the BJP a few weeks ago; Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra BJP leader Chandrakant Patil were present during his induction, the ANI report added.
Per the ANI report, on February 21, Fadnavis congratulated the BJP`s freshly elected Rajya Sabha members, including erstwhile Congress Leader Ashok Chavan, who crossed sides earlier this year. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan officially joined the BJP in Mumbai on February 13.
Similarly, former Madhya Pradesh MLAs Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri joined the BJP in Bhopal, in front of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
The trend continued in Uttarakhand, where Manish Khanduri, son of veteran BJP politician Retd Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, switched allegiance to the BJP after resigning from the Congress in front of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the ANI report further stated.
Furthermore, prominent Congress leader and former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri switched to the BJP in Bhopal, indicating a significant shift in party allegiance.
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