Congress senior leader Vikhe Patil's son Sujay joins BJP

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 joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.

Sujay joined the party at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's Varsha Bungalow in his presence on Tuesday afternoon.

"I have taken this decision against my father’s wishes ... I don’t know how much my parents will support this decision but I will try my best to make my family proud by working under the guidance of BJP... I think the Chief Minister and other BJP MLAs have been supportive and helped me take this decision... BJP MLA Sunil Kardile has supported me and guided me during the last five years and I am thankful to him for helping me reach here," Sujay told media here.

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.

There are already murmurs within the BJP against Sujay's likely candidature from Ahmednagar, sources shared.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "Sujay Vikhe Patil's name has been forwarded by state unit to Central Parliamentary board for Lok Sabha candidature and we are sure that the recommended name will be accepted by the Central Parliamentary board."

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 was all set to welcome Sujay on Tuesday, sources added.