Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil abstains from campaigning for Congress
On being asked whether he was rebelling against the Congress leadership, Mr Vikhe-Patil denied the same.
Mumbai: After announcing that he will not campaign for the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Nagar constituency, senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has not been seen campaigning for his own party either. Instead, he has been spotted canvassing for his son Sujay who is contesting as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Ahmednagar seat.
According to sources, the senior Mr Vikhe-Patil was seen holding a public meeting in Rahuri town outside Ahmednagar city, which was mostly attended by sugarcane farmers.
Addressing the gathering, he urged them to vote for Sujay in the upcoming polls. During the meeting, Mr Vikhe-Patil targeted NCP chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra.
The NCP denied the Ahmednagar seat to Sujay, claiming it was part of its quota. From the Ahmednagar constituency, the NCP has fielded Sangram Arun Jagtap to take on BJP's Sujay.
On being asked whether he was rebelling against the Congress leadership, Mr Vikhe-Patil denied the same, claiming that he had sought the party’s permission to seek votes for his son. “I am very much with the Congress,” he said.
Sujay Vikhe-Patil joined the BJP last month after the NCP refused to vacate the Ahmednagar seat for him. The BJP later gave him a ticket from the same constituency.
Following this, the senior Mr Vikhe-Patil announced that he would not campaign for the NCP candidate in the Ahmednagar constituency.
However, he has not been found campaigning for his own party either. Ever since canvassing has started, Mr Vikhe-Patil has not addressed even a single public rally for Congress and NCP candidates.
Following Sujay’s decision to join the BJP, Mr Vikhe-Patil was also expected to follow suit and quit the Congress.
However, the Congress has reiterated that the senior leader is still associated with them.
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