Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Jan 20: In another blow to the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP), Raje Samarjeetsinh Ghatge, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, is all set to return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources close to him said on Monday.
Ghatge, who had joined the NCP (SP) ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections in August 2024, is learnt to have decided to rejoin the BJP after spending a little over a year with the party. People close to him confirmed the development.
A political rival of Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, Ghatge had quit the BJP after the Kagal Assembly seat was allotted to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP under the Mahayuti alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement. He subsequently joined the NCP (SP) and contested the 2024 Assembly elections from Kagal against Mushrif, but suffered defeat for the second consecutive time.
Ghatge lost the election by 11,581 votes, enabling Mushrif to secure his sixth term as an NCP MLA from the constituency.
Earlier, Ghatge’s entry into the NCP (SP) was projected as a major boost for the party in western Maharashtra, considering his royal lineage and local influence. However, an aide of Ghatge said he was disappointed with the party’s performance in the 2024 Assembly elections as well as its showing in the ongoing local body polls.
“He is upset with the NCP (SP)’s performance in the Assembly elections and local body elections, and intends to return to the BJP fold,” the aide said.
Speculation further intensified after Ghatge recently removed the NCP (SP) election symbol from his social media profiles. During his earlier stint in the BJP, he was considered close to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Reacting to the reports, NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said the party had not received any official communication from Ghatge.
“We have no information about Ghatge leaving the party. If it is true, then it is his personal decision or one taken due to political compulsions,” Tapase said.
Ghatge, meanwhile, did not respond to phone calls or text messages seeking his comment.