MUMBAI: The NCP faced twin blows on Thursday as its Mumbai unit chief Sachin Ahir joined the Shiv Sena on Thursday, while the I-T department raided premises related to senior leader Hasan Mushrif in Kolhapur.
There are also rumours of NCP MLA Vaibhav Pichad and senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal joining the BJP. While Bhujbal denied any such possibility, there has been no such statement from Pichad as of yet. Ahir, 47, was a junior minister in the previous UPA government in Maharashtra.
Ahir said he is joining the party as it has got a good following in urban areas and that he has a good experience in tackling urban issues. “I shall be working for spreading the party across the state.” Meanwhile, I-T officials raided the properties of Mushrif, who is a formidable force in Kolhapur politics where the Sena has created its own space for the first time by winning the Lok Sabha election this year.