MUMBAI: NCP leader Niranjan Davkhare today submitted his resignation as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, and also quit the party.
The BJP issued a statement saying that Davkhare will join the saffron party in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tomorrow.
Davkhare, who announced earlier in the day that he was resigning as a legislator and quitting the Sharad Pawar-led party, could not be contacted to confirm if he was joining the BJP.
The NCP claimed that Davkhare was expelled from the party for six years on the directive of state unit chief Jayant Patil.
The development comes days after the ruling BJP inducted former Congress minister Rajendra Gavit into its fold and fielded him for the May 28 Lok Sabha by-election in Palghar.
Niranjan Davkhare's father, late Vasant Davkhare, was a veteran NCP leader from Thane-Palghar region, and had served as Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council for nearly 18 years.
Davkhare, who represented the Konkan graduates' constituency, met Council chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar today and submitted his resignation.
His term was due to expire on July 7.
"I took this decision because I was fed up of internal politics of local NCP leaders. I have witnessed the formation and growth of NCP since its inception. I am saddened while taking the decision to quit.
But I was forced to do so because of the internal politics directed against me at the local level," he said, speaking to reporters. The NCP termed Davkhare as "opportunist".
"He has been threatening to quit for quite some time. He became a leader in the NCP because of his father. Let's see how he charts his own course in the BJP," party spokesperson Nawab Malik said.