Some Cong-NCP MLAs set to welcome BJP yatra, says Maha CM

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said some Congress and NCP MLAs are set to welcome his 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' in its next phase and he would accept their gesture.

Fadnavis, however, did not name the opposition MLAs he was alluding to nor did he say if they would join the ruling BJP during his yatra.

The chief minister's comment comes in the wake of several opposition MLAs joining the ruling BJP recently, key among them being Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Kalidas Kolambkar from the Congress, and Shivendrasinh Bhosale, Sandip Naik and Vaibhav Pichad of the NCP.

The Maharashtra CM made the remarks after a journalist asked him about Shivsangram leader Vinayak Mete, a BJP ally who had supported NCP candidate Bajrang Sonawane in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, welcoming his yatra here.

"This is a Mahajanadesh Yatra and it is being welcomed at places by people. You see, in the next phase, some Congress and NCP MLAs and people from different parties will welcome the yatra and we will accept that," Fadnavis said.

Without naming Mete, Fadnavis said the people of Beed have shown him his place. BJP's Pritam Munde had retained the seat defeating Sonawane in the April-May general elections.

"In Beed, whoever has opposed, whether he was in the opposition or with us, everyone has been shown his place," he added.

The first phase of the yatra is set to wind up in Solapur on September 1, while the next phase that will cover parts of Konkan region will be held between September 13-19.