Daijiworld Media Network - Thane

Thane, Apr 28: In a political development in Maharashtra, NCP (SP) leader and former minister Vinayakrao Patil has quit the Opposition party and joined the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Patil, along with former Shiv Sena (UBT) Latur district chief Santosh Somvanshi, was inducted into the party at a function held in Thane on Monday.

Welcoming the leaders, Shinde said the party’s expansion from Buldhana to Nanded reflects growing public confidence in his government’s development agenda. He added that Shiv Sena is a party of grassroots workers where everyone is treated equally, and emphasised his open-door approach to party members.

Shinde reiterated that the party continues to follow the ideals of Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and his mentor Anand Dighe. He claimed that the party has emerged as the second-largest force in the state and set a aim of having a “Shiv Sainik in every house,” adding that around 25,000 more workers are expected to join soon.

Highlighting the Mahayuti government’s welfare initiatives, Shinde referred to schemes such as Ladki Bahin, farm loan waivers and free higher education for girls. He accused the Opposition of attempting to stall these programmes through legal challenges, asserting that the government would continue to implement them.

Patil, who was elected as an Independent MLA from Ahmedpur in Latur district in 1999 and 2014, had served as Minister of State in the cabinet of former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. He later joined the BJP and then the NCP (SP) in 2023.

In the 2024 Assembly elections, Patil contested from Ahmedpur on an NCP (SP) ticket but lost to sitting MLA and Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil.