Mumbai, Jul 31 (PTI) Former Congress MLA from Maharashtra’s Jalna, Kailas Gorantyal, joined the ruling BJP with his supporters on Thursday.
He was inducted into the BJP at the party’s state headquarters here.
State BJP president Ravindra Chavan welcomed Gorantyal, a three-time Congress MLA, and his associates into the party.
Senior leaders, including former Union minister Raosaheb Danve, state Minister for OBC Welfare Atul Save and former chief minister and Rajya Sabha member Ashok Chavan, were present on the occasion.
Speaking at the event, Ravindra Chavan said, “Gorantyal is a grassroots leader, and we are delighted to welcome him into the BJP. With faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Gorantyal has joined our mission of building a ‘Developed India’ and ‘Developed Maharashtra’.” Gorantyal said he joined the BJP without any expectations, solely driven by the party’s commitment to development and decisive leadership at the state and national levels.
“I will sincerely fulfil whatever responsibility the party entrusts to me. I assure you that the BJP will gets its first mayor in Jalna in the upcoming municipal elections,” he added.
Gorantyal resigned from the primary membership of the Congress on Tuesday. In his resignation letter addressed to state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, he cited “personal reasons” for his decision.
In the November 2024 assembly elections, Gorantyal lost his Jalna assembly seat to Shiv Sena candidate Arjun Khotkar. Following the defeat, he had openly criticised the Congress leadership for delaying the announcement of his candidature and failing to extend adequate support to his campaign.
He had been elected to the state legislative assembly in 1999, 2009 and 2019.
Earlier, former Congress MLA Suresh Warpudkar from Parbhani joined the BJP. PTI MR NP
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