Indapur (Maharashtra), Oct 7 (PTI) Former Maharashtra minister Harshvardhan Patil, a bete noire of NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, joined the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Monday, days after quitting the BJP.
He is likely to get the NCP (SP) ticket from home ground of Indapur in Pune district.
Speaking at his induction in NCP (SP) in Indapur, Patil virtually acknowledged his “invisible” support in ensuring the victory of Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, who had defeated Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar from her home turf Baramati, in Lok Sabha elections.
Patil, a former MLA from Indapur, formally joined the NCP (SP) fold in the presence of Sharad Pawar.
Addressing a gathering at the occasion, Pawar appealed to the people to send Patil to the state assembly, virtually declaring his candidature for the upcoming elections.
Patil, who quit the Congress and switched over to the BJP before the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, famously said in 2021 that he was getting “sound sleep” in the BJP as there are “no inquiries”.
Sunetra Pawar had lost her maiden Lok Sabha election against Sule from the Baramati constituency which includes the Indapur assembly segment, the stronghold of Harashvardhan Patil.
“Supriya Sule was elected from Baramati four times. She has been doing good work. On three occasions our support for her was direct. In 2024, the support (for Sule) was invisible,” Patil said cryptically.
Sule, state NCP (SP) unit president Jayant Patil, Shirur MP Amol Kolhe, Madha MP Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil, and other senior party leaders were present at the induction of Harshvardhan Patil.
Notably, Patil became the second prominent leader from the BJP to join the NCP (SP) ahead of assembly polls, likely to be held in November. His exit from the BJP is viewed as a setback to Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.
Earlier, Raje Samarjeet Ghatge from Kolhapur’s Kagal tehsil, the BJP face in the sugar belt, had switched to the Sharad Pawar-led camp.
Patil said his supporters wanted him to contest the upcoming assembly elections from the Indapur seat, which he had earlier represented, and asserted people are more important than political parties in a democracy.
The incumbent president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, Patil quit the BJP last week. He met the NCP (SP) chief in Mumbai on October 3 and said Pawar urged him to join his party and contest the assembly elections, likely to be held next month.
Addressing the gathering, Patil acknowledged the strong backing he received from the people of Indapur and his long-standing support for Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Lies are believed quickly, but they don’t last long. The truth may take time but it endures,” he said, explaining his departure from the BJP.
Patil shared details of discussions he had had with Fadnavis.
“I held a two-hour conversation with Fadnavis. I shared my struggles, and he shared his. He offered alternatives, but the people of Indapur had already made up their minds. My pain point was elsewhere, but that pain has now been relieved,” Patil said in an apparent jibe at the Ajit Pawar camp.
Sharad Pawar praised Patil for his “dedication to agricultural reforms and rural development”, highlighting the significant contributions made by Patil and his father, former Baramati MP Shankarrao Patil.
Patil had served as the minister of state for agriculture and marketing in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government during 1995-99. He won the 1995 assembly election as an independent candidate.
He was a minister during the Congress-NCP alliance government from 1999 to 2014. He joined the Congress in 2009 and was the minister for cooperation and parliamentary affairs.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said Patil’s joining the NCP (SP) is a good omen.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and the Congress comprise the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
At Indapur, Jayant Patil emphasised the need to rally behind Sharad Pawar against what he described as “Delhi’s attempts to control Maharashtra”.
“Whenever Delhi tried to rule over Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar showed them the strength of Maharashtra’s self-respect. If you want to strengthen Pawar’s hands in fighting back, we must elect maximum MLAs across the state. Our fight is not within the state; it is with Delhi,” he stated.
In a dig at the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Patil said, “Our house is a little crowded, so there isn’t enough space for you”.
He targeted state home minister Fadnavis over the “deteriorating” law and order situation.
“Police officers gamble in a police station in Nagpur. When our sisters go out of their homes, we don’t know if they will return safely,” he said.
Sule highlighted Harshvardhan Patil’s familial ties with the Pawar family while taking a dig at the Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s election symbol- the clock.
“You use a watch or mobile phone to check time? Do you need the watch?” she asked, referring to the Election Commission’s decision to allocate the clock symbol to the NCP.
Sule alleged the Mahayuti government was working by accepting a 40% commission.
“This ‘40% sarkar’ needs to go,” Sule said as she alleged cost escalation for the Pune Ring Road project from Rs 12,000 crore to Rs 42,000 crore in three years. PTI MR ND GK BNM NSK
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