Former Congress MLA Radhakrishnan Vikhe-Patil to join BJP soon

Former Congress MLA Radhakrishnan Vikhe Patil is set to join BJP soon, sources said. Besides Patil, some other Congress leaders, including Abdul Sattar and Kalidas Kolambekar are planning to join the saffron party.

It is to be noted that Vikhe-Patel was once the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly but he resigned from the post in March this year. Vikhe-Patil decided to step down after some Congress leaders accused him of indulging in anti-party activities. 

Only last month, Patil's son Sujay Vikhe Patil quit the Congress party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Then, Patil had openly campaigned for his son, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Ahmednagar and had asked the people to vote for him. 

Vikhe-Patil decided to quit as LoP after his son Sujay Vikhe-Patil joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in March this year. Sujay Vikhe-Patil was welcomed to BJP several senior leaders including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state party chief Raosahabe Danve-Patil.

Sujay contested Lok Sabha election from Ahmednagar on a BJP ticket and registered a comfortable win. Ahmednagar is a bastion of the Vikhe-Patil clan and Sujay belongs to the fourth-generation of the renowned family. The senior Vikhe-Patel had campaigned extensively for his son during the Lok Sabha poll. 

Sujay decided to contest on a BJP ticket after NCP chief Sharad Pawar refused to accept a request by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil to not contest from  Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat for his son.