03 April,2024 01:02 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/Shadab Khan
In a major jolt to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Unmesh Patil, the BJP MP from Jalgaon in north Maharashtra who failed to get the saffron party ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, joined the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday.
Patil joined the Sena (UBT) at 'Matoshree', the residence of party head and former state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Mumbai, along with his followers.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Patil joining the party will bolster its prospects in Jalgaon and north Maharashtra and make its path to victory easier.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied ticket to Patil and replaced him with Smita Wagh from the Jalgaon parliamentary constituency.
The BJP is fighting the Lok Sabha elections, to be held in five phases between April 19 and May 20, as part of the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as its two other constituents.
Yesterday, Unmesh Patil met Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, sparking speculation about his future political move.
Talking to reporters after his meeting with Raut, Patil said, "All your questions will be answered in detail, but today is not the appropriate day for it."
Patil said he and Raut have been colleagues in Parliament and he wanted to have a dialogue with the latter.
His meeting with Raut was only an attempt to protect the friendship that goes beyond politics, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
