25 September,2024 05:20 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sharad Pawar inducted Rajabhau Phad into the party. Pic/NCP/X
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde's long-time confidant, Rajabhau Phad, joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP SP) in the presence of its party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday, months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024, reported the PTI.
Inducting him into the party fold, Sharad Pawar launched a veiled attack on the Ajit Pawar-led NCP leaders who broke away to join hands with the ruling BJP and the CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Rajabhau Phad, who has been a sarpanch in Parli for 25 years and a former youth president of the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), is poised to play a crucial role in the NCP (SP)'s strategy to win back the Parli seat from Panjaka Munde, he said, reported the PTI.
"The prime minister kept saying '400 paar', but after the (Lok Sabha) elections, they didn't even reach 240 seats. Those who won elections in our name and formed a government have abandoned us. But we will not rest until we change the government," Sharad Pawar said, according to the PTI.
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Rajabhau Phad claimed that there was an atmosphere of political persecution in Parli.
"Not a single 'karyakarta' (party worker) has been spared from false cases. Whenever someone joins an opposition party, fake cases are filed against them. A fake case will be filed against me too, but people are with Sharad Pawar saheb," he added, as per the PTI.
Rajabhau Phad accused Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde of siphoning off public funds meant for Parli's development.
NCP (SP) leader Bajrang Sonawane, who represents the Beed Lok Sabha constituency, also addressed the gathering.
Bajrang Sonawane, who defeated Pankaja Munde in the recent high-stakes Lok Sabha elections, emphasized the growing discontent in the Mahayuti alliance, particularly in Parli.
"We don't need to wait for the Maharashtra assembly elections. What Parli does and what happens when someone is insulted was seen in the Lok Sabha elections," he said, a PTI report stated.
Rajabhau Phad's defection to the NCP (SP) is being seen as a blow to the ruling Mahayuti, the news agency reported on Wednesday.
(with PTI inputs)
