Cong heavyweight from Pune hints at joining BJP

The Congress may lose its one more senior leader owing to differences with Nationalist Congress Party over sharing of Indapur constituency in Pune district.

Former Congress minister Harshavardhan Patil is vying for the seat, while NCP is keen on fielding its sitting MLA Dattatray Bharne. In the wake of the disagreement over the sharing of the seat, Patil is likely to join the BJP in the next few days. Meanwhile, the Congress has alleged that the BJP has managed survey reports that have projected 229 seats to ruling alliance in the state polls to be held in September-October.

The Congress and NCP have not been able to arrive at a conclusion over sharing of 8-10 seats despite holding rounds of meeting for seat-sharing over the last two months. The Indapur constituency has become a bone of contention for both parties as a section of NCP is not ready to leave the seat to Congress. In his meeting with party workers in Indapur on Wednesday, Patil has given an ultimatum to the Congress-NCP and strongly criticised NCP leadership for ‘betrayal’. He has announced to declare his decision on September 10.

Meanwhile, party spokesperson Sachin Sawant slammed the state for its decision to build MTDC resorts in Kashmir.

First Published: Sep 05, 2019 00:53 IST