Sharad Pawar camp suffers a setback, key leader joins BJP in Maharashtra

Sharad Pawar's NCP on Monday suffered a setback as its party leader Madhukar Ralebhat joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly polls in Maharashtra. Ralebhat joined the saffron party in the presence of the party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

After inducting him into the party, Fadnavis said many other leaders had also joined the party along with the NCP-SP leader. "None of them was born with a silver spoon, all of them are very hardworking and do good work. Only a respectable person can understand the pain of a respectable person and we listen to the pain of such people." 

"In Maharashtra, our government takes decisions immediately. Whether it is a water problem or any other problem, we take every decision as soon as possible. The entire Karjat Jamkhed district is facing a water problem, we will solve it," he said. 

Reports suggest that Ralebhat's switch could affect Rohit Pawar, the sitting MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed. The NCP-SP leader was a close associate of Rohit Pawar,  the grandson of Sharad Pawar. In the 2019 elections, Rohit wrested this seat from BJP by securing nearly 57 per cent of votes. 

Assembly elections in Maharashtra are expected to be held in November.