NCP stalwart Vijaysinh Mohite Patil's son set to join BJP

In another embarrassment for the Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra, and especially for the Sharad Pawar-led party, ahead of the next month's Lok Sabha polls, NCP stalwart Vijaysinh Mohite Patil's son Ranjitsinh is all set to join the ruling BJP with the "consent" of his father.

The development comes days after senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son Sujay crossed over to the BJP in the wake of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP spurning the Vikhe Patil senior's request to leave aside Ahmedanagar Lok Sabha seat for his son.

Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, currently the NCP MP from Madha in western Maharashtra, had served as a deputy chief minister in the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government.

The Mohite Patil senior said he was "in agreement" with his son's decision.

It is not known immediately whether Vijaysinh will also join the BJP, as is being speculated.

Addressing supporters in the family bastion of Akluj in Solapur district, Ranjitsinh asked them whether he should join the BJP, to which they responded positively, and shouted slogans hailing their leaders.

Ranjitsinh had been an MP in the Rajya Sabha.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president (Raosaheb Danve), and other leaders have asked me to be there tomorrow (Wednesday) at Wankhede Stadium (in Mumbai) at 12:30 PM," he said.

Ranjitsinh, who reportedly held talks with Fadnavis and also with state minister Girish Mahajan before announcing his shift, heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union minister Nitin Gadkari for "working to solve problems of farmers".

NCP sources said Vijaysinh, one of the five MPs of the party from Maharashtra, is feeling sidelined in the party.

He had requested NCP chief Sharad Pawar to contest from faction-ridden Madha seat.

However, after keeping NCP leaders and workers guessing whether he would enter the Lok Sabha fray from Madha, Pawar, in a U-turn, announced that he was not keen to contest.

A senior BJP leader said Vijaysinh had been in touch with the saffron party for at least a year before Ranjitsinh decided to cross over.

"Vijaysinh has been feeling disgruntled," the BJP leader added.

Polling will be held in Maharashtra in four phases next month.