Mumbai, Jun 22 (PTI) In a twist after result of the Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Nashik local authorities’ constituency on Monday, Gokul Gite, who defeated Shiv Sena’s official candidate Kishore Darade, joined the ruling party as an associate member, hours after his victory.
Addressing a news conference, Gite, who contested the legislative council polls as an independent candidate, said he had expressed interest to work under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena.
“I have joined the Shiv Sena as an associate member” Gite said.
Gite sprang a surprise on Monday as he won the council seat from the Nashik local authorities’ constituency defeating Darade.
In Nashik, Gite secured 357 votes against Darade’s 248, winning by 109 votes, as per election officials.
His victory came as a surprise as the ruling party candidate was expected to put up a strong challenge.
Gite, whose brother Ganesh was a former corporator of the BJP, while his sister-in-law is a sitting BJP corporator of the Nashik Municipal Corporation, stressed that he was not an active member of the saffron party, which heads the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
During the polls, Gite had refused to withdraw his nomination despite hectic efforts from senior leaders of the Shiv Sena as well as the BJP, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shinde. PTI PR RSY
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