BJP Beed chief slams saffron party for ignoring him, joins NCP (SP)

BJP's Beed district president Rajendra Mhaske has resigned and joined the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), alleging that the saffron party did not nominate him for the Maharashtra assembly polls despite working hard for its growth.

Mhaske, who quit the ruling BJP on Sunday, joined Sharad Pawar's outfit on Wednesday. The BJP has announced the names of 99 candidates so far for the November 20 elections.

I was BJP's Beed district president for the past five to six years. I had worked hard for the party's growth, Mhaske told PTI on Thursday.

Ever since Ajit Pawar's NCP became a part of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, the BJP has stopped paying attention to the Beed district, alleged Mhaske.

He claimed that BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule had earlier hinted that the party would give him a ticket from the Beed assembly segment for the assembly polls. Instead, the BJP has given the entire district to NCP. Therefore, I have quit the BJP and joined NCP (SP), he added.

Sandeep Kshirsagar of NCP (SP) is the sitting MLA from the Beed constituency, which Mhaske was eyeing. Kshirsagar is among the few MLAs who remained with Sharad Pawar even after Ajit Pawar broke away from the undivided NCP with legislators loyal to him.

Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.