Sharad Pawar kicks off Kolhapur mission, BJP leader Ghatge joins NCP (SP)

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar kicked off his Kolhapur mission on Tuesday by inducting BJP leader Raje Samarjeetsinh Ghatge, a royal descendant of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, who joined NCP in a public rally at Gaibi Chowk in Kagal.
The NCP(SP) chief also held parleys with several leaders from Ajit Pawar-led NCP and BJP who are interested in contesting the upcoming assembly polls. Ghatge, who was considered a close aide of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, gave a tough fight to five-term sitting NCP MLA Hasan Mushrif in the last assembly elections as an independent candidate.
He was keen on contesting the elections from Kagal on a BJP ticket, but due to the understanding between the three allies, BJP will have to leave the seat for Mushrif who is from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, so he chose the rival NCP.
“Without having a constitutional position, I did everything I could in my capacity for Kagal. As a member of the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj family, I am seeking blessings from the people. Give me a chance to serve you,” Ghatge said in his address.
Pawar not only made it clear that Ghatge would be contesting the assembly election against Mushrif from the Kagal constituency but also indicated that he could be a minister if MVA comes to power. “The presence of many people indicates that the decision to bring change in Kagal has support from the common people. Support him so that he can be elected to the state assembly. After entering the state assembly, I promise that he will not remain as an MLA, he will be given more responsibilities,” the NCP chief said.
Pawar also took a swipe at Mushrif who shifted his loyalty to the Ajit Pawar faction during the NCP’s split saying that the NCP minister comes from the same family whose women used to urge the central government to shoot them instead of harassing them through central investigation agencies. “Kagal has never been so helpless. Kagal will accept anything but not helplessness,” he commented without naming Mushrif.
Meanwhile, several leaders from Ajit Pawar-led NCP and BJP met Pawar at the hotel he was staying in. Prominent among them was two-term former MLA KP Patil who had shifted his loyalty to Ajit Pawar when the NCP split. Patil is interested in contesting from the Radhanagari assembly constituency where the sitting MLA is from CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Patil, who is the chairman of Bidri Cooperative sugar factory, insisted that he never left the party.
Pawar then met AY Patil, state vice president of NCP, who recently left the party. He was one of the directors of the Bidri sugar factory. The NCP (SP) president also met Rahul Desai. He is the son of a former MLA from Radhanagri Bajrang Desai. Rahul joined BJP in 2019 and was recently appointed as BJP district president. Both AY Patil and Rahul Desai are said to have expressed their desire to contest the election from the Radhanagari assembly constituency.