Will resign from BJP, says sulking MLA Ashish Deshmukh

Mumbai: Sulking Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ashish Deshmukh has anno-unced that he will soon resign as a legislator and also from the party. He made the remark in Chandrapur during the “Atmabal Yatra” organised by him on Friday. He said that his faith in the BJP and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had eroded. He said he had written to the chief minister demanding a separate Vidarbha however the CM had not responded to it.

With his “Atmabal Yatra”, Mr Deshmukh intends to reach out to every district in the Vidarbha region. As part of his campaign, he will be raising issues including the plight of farmers and a separate Vidarbha. During the rally in Chandrapur, he said, “I will resign from the post of MLA very soon. I had written to CM Fadnavis about BJP’s assurance of a separate Vidarbha. But he has not responded.”

For the last two months, Mr Deshmukh has been seen constantly criticising his party’s government on various issues. First, he spoke about farmers’ suicides in Vidarbha and how the Fadnavis government had failed to keep its promise. Later, he demanded that the government make its stand clear on a separate Vidarbha.

During the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, Mr Deshmukh was served notice for not attending the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) meeting of BJP MLAs. However, Mr Deshmukh did not respond to the notice. If he indeed makes good on his announcement of resigning from his post and the party, he would effectively become the second BJP leader from Vidarbha to ditch BJP. Earlier, Nana Patole, then MP from Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha constituency had resigned from BJP and joined the Congress.