Congress senior leader Vikhe Patil's son Sujay to join BJP today
Mumbai: In an embarrassment to the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son Sujay is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.
BJP is most likely to field Sujay from Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency which is currently held by BJP's Dilip Mansukhlal Gandhi, according to BJP sources.
Sujay will join the party at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's Varsha Bungalow in his presence on Tuesday afternoon.
There are already murmurs within the BJP against Sujay's likely candidature from Ahmednagar, sources shared.
The protests are especially from supporters of Dilip Gandhi, a senior MP and also a former union minister, sources added.
Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had reportedly tried to get a Lok Sabha ticket for his son from Ahmednagar, but the seat was in NCP's quota as part of its alliance with Congress.
In a press conference, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had confirmed that his party had offered a ticket to Sujay Vikhe Patil, but he refused to contest as an NCP candidate.
Sources said that the Congress party had tried a lot to prevent Sujay's entry into BJP. Apparently, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was summoned to Delhi by the Congress.
He met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Monday, but it seemed that the meetings were unfruitful as BJP is all set to welcome Sujay on Tuesday, sources added.