In a significant setback for the Congress party in Maharashtra, veteran leader Padmakar Valvi made a pivotal move on Wednesday by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The transition occurred in Mumbai in the presence of state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and party leader Ashok Chavan.
Valvi's defection to the BJP comes amidst Rahul Gandhi's ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which reached Maharashtra's Nandurbar on Tuesday. Valvi, a prominent figure in Nandurbar, a tribal-dominated district, had been a stalwart of the Congress Party, serving as a three-time MLA from the region.
Having wielded considerable influence in North Maharashtra, Valvi also held ministerial positions in the previous Congress-NCP government, making his departure a significant blow to the Maharashtra Congress.
This latest move adds to a series of exits from the Maharashtra Congress in recent times. Just a few weeks ago, Basavaraj Patil defected to the BJP in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil.
The trend of defections from Congress to BJP has been notable in the region. On February 21, Devendra Fadnavis congratulated newly elected Rajya Sabha members from BJP, including former Congress leader Ashok Chavan.
Prior to that, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan himself joined the BJP in Mumbai on February 13. In a parallel development in Madhya Pradesh, former MLA Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri embraced the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Bhopal.
The trend extended to Uttarakhand as well, with Manish Khanduri, son of former Chief Minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, joining the BJP after resigning from Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The recent addition to the BJP ranks also includes senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri, who made the switch in Bhopal. These successive defections underscore the political landscape's evolving dynamics, signaling a challenging period for the Maharashtra Congress.
Follow us
