Maha council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar on way to BJP?

Senior NCP leader and chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative council, Ramraje Nimbalkar, may follow in the footsteps of his erstwhile counterpart in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of Congress, in joining the ruling BJP ahead of the assembly polls.

A close aide said on Sunday that Nimbalkar's ongoing feud with Satara NCP MP and Maratha royal Udayanraje Bhosale could be the likely trigger, if he were to jump the ship.

Nimbalkar comes from a royal family in Phaltan taluka of Satara district while Bhosale is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

It is also expected that Nimbalkar might continue to serve as the chairman of the council even after he switches his loyalties.

Bhosale's younger brother Shivendraraje has already joined the BJP and speculation is that he might get a ticket to contest from Jawli assembly constituency in the western Maharashtra district.

Despite NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar's attempts to broker peace, Nimbalkar and Bhosale have been criticising each other from public forums.

Nimbalkar's son-in-law and lawyer Rahul Narvekar is an NCP MLC. His brother and the latter's wife are corporators in the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on BJP tickets.

The assembly elections are due in September-October this year.

Vikhe Patil had officially joined the BJP after he was inducted as Housing Minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in June this year.

The Sharad Pawar-led party has suffered many desertions in the recent past, with some key leaders joining either the BJP or Shiv Sena, apparently for greener pastures, while others are reported to be sitting on fence.