Nana Patole, the former Lok Sabha MP from Bhandara-Gondia constituency who resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and as an MP last month, said on Thursday that he would join the Congress in the coming days.
Mr. Patole told reporters in Nagpur that he called on Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday. “I met Mr. Gandhi, along with [Maharashtra Congress president] Ashok Chavan, [Opposition leader in Maharashtra Assembly] Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and [Mumbai Congress president] Sanjay Nirupam. We discussed the current tense situation in Maharashtra and how the BJP government at the Centre and in the State is trying to divide people along caste lines,” he said.
When asked if he was joining the Congress, Mr. Patole said he had been a man of the Congress ideology since the very beginning. “The Congress has always taken a lead to protect the country whenever we faced troubles. The announcement [on joining Congress] would be made in the coming days.”
When asked if he would contest the byelection from the Bhandara-Gondia constituency, Mr. Patole said, “There is a possibility that some other BJP leader may replace Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister. In that situation, Mr. Fadnavis will go to Delhi and might contest this byelection. In that case, I will definitely contest the poll against him. There is also a possibility that the BJP might give the ticket to [NCP leader] Praful Patel. I will contest against Mr. Patel as well. Otherwise, I will make my follower contest the enter the fray.”
Sources close to Mr. Patole said the former MP would like to enter the Congress in a “mega event”.
