Senior NCP leader's son Niranjan Davkhare quits party to join BJP

Niranjan Davkhare

A much-awaited defection has finally happened in Thane district. A sitting MLC of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Niranjan Davkhare, who is the son of former senior NCP leader, the late Vasant Davkhare, quit the party and post on Wednesday and will be joining the BJP today.

Niranjan represented the Konkan graduates constituency in the Maharashtra upper house where his father had been serving as deputy chairman a couple of years ago. He was expected to join the BJP immediately after his father's defeat in the legislative council polls in 2016 at the hands of a Shiv Sena candidate in a local self-government constituency. In his resignation papers on Wednesday, Niranjan blamed intra-NCP politics in Thane district where his father had taken politics beyond party lines.

Things changed drastically after his father's demise in January this year, he said, adding that he had been ill-treated by local NCP leaders. "I had been associated with the party since its inception. My father was one of the founders of the party and he worked hard for its growth, but I was given a raw deal," he said, adding that local NCP leaders had ensured his father's defeat. "We complained against the leaders, but no action was taken. Instead, the accused leaders continued to target my family," he said. BJP said Niranjan will be inducted in their party at 11 am on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the state headquarters.