Raju Shetti meets NCP’s Udayanraje Bhosale

Opposition ally tries to talk him out of joining BJP

Swabhimani Paksha chief and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ally Raju Shetti called on disgruntled NCP MP from Satara, Udayanraje Bhosale, on Wednesday in a bid to dissuade him from joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Following a series of defections from the NCP and the Congress, there has been speculation that Mr. Bhosale — one of the only four NCP MPs elected in Maharashtra in the general election — will go over to the BJP.

Following the meeting at the government rest house in Satara, Mr. Shetti said leaders like Mr. Bhosale, a direct descendant of king Shivaji, were required for keeping a strong opposition and democracy alive in the State. “The present political situation is not good. There is a pressing need for forceful opposition leaders like Mr. Bhosale who can take up the problems of farmers, workers and ordinary citizens in Parliament. I have requested him to think about this before taking any decision,” Mr. Shetti said.

He said Mr. Bhosale had told him he had not yet decided on joining the BJP.

According to sources, Mr. Bhosale has been upset over the factionalism within the NCP for some time now. It is believed that he will join the BJP in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the second such desperate effort on part of the NCP and its allies to stop Mr. Bhosale from switching sides. On Monday, the party had sent actor-turned-MP from Shirur, Dr. Amol Kolhe, to persuade the Satara leader to change his mind. The half-hour meeting, however, came a cropper. “How can a

mavala (Maratha soldier) convince a king [as Mr. Bhosale is the 13th direct descendant of King Shivaji]?” was Dr. Kolhe’s terse remark after the meeting.

Mr. Bhosale, known for frequently taking a vocal stance against his own party, has been conspicuously absent from the NCP’s Shiv Swarajya Yatra in Satara. He is a tall figure in the district, whose defection to the BJP would would improve the saffron party’s standing with the Maratha community and deal a setback to the NCP.

No stranger to brushes with the law, Mr. Bhosale was arrested in a murder case in 1999, but was later acquitted by the court. He has switched parties before too, being with the Congress and the BJP before allying himself with the NCP in 2009 when he was first elected to the Lok Sabha.

The BJP had been courting him ever since the party came to power in the State in 2014.