Mumbai: Congress MLA Abdul Sattar, who was recently expelled from the party for indulging in anti-party activities, has indicated that he will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon.
Mr Sattar and disgruntled Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil were seen together at an event in Sangamner in Ahmednagar district. Speaking on the occasion, he said that several Congress leaders are on their way out and are likely to join the BJP.
“Whatever decision Mr Vikhe Patil takes, we will abide by that. His decision will be final for us,” said Mr Sattar.
He also said that Mr Vikhe Patil would be inducted into the state Cabinet. He will be made minister after June 1, he added.
During the Lok Sabha polls, Mr Sattar had announced his support to Harshvardhan Jadhav, who contested as an independent from the Aurangabad. Mr Jadhav is a son-in-law of state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve.
Mr Sattar, a legislator from Sillod in Aurangabad, was reportedly unhappy over Congress nominees for the Aurangabad and Jalna seats. The Congress has announced the names of Subhash Zambad, sitting member of legislative council (MLC) and Vilas Autade for the Aurangabad and Jalna LS constituencies respectively.
Irked by this, Mr Sattar had resigned from his post of MLA and submitted his nomination as an independent candidate from the Aurangabad constituency. He had also met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha, to seek his support. However, he later withdrew his nomination.
BJP sources have disclosed that CM had assured him a ticket in the Assembly polls from the party and asked him to withdraw his nomination.
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