After Lok Sabha polls rout, Congress stares at bulk desertions to BJP in Maharashtra
MUMBAI: Fresh from the Lok Sabha poll rout, the Congress in Maharashtra could see bulk desertions to the saffron camp very soon, a rebel party MLA from Marathwada has said.
In a clear sign that all was not well with the party, a Congress MLA from Sillod, near Aurangabad, was suspended during the recent general elections for anti-party activities.
The MLA in question wanted to contest the polls from Aurangabad and had even filed papers as an Independent against the official party candidate.
Although he withdrew his nomination papers at the last moment, he didn’t campaign for party candidate Subhash Jhambad, who came a distant fourth in the eventual tally.
Sattar, who was seen with a former leader of opposition in the state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil at a function in Sangamner on Saturday, made the sensational claim, adding that Patil, too, is likely to join the state cabinet soon.
“Wait for Vikhe-Patil to make the big announcement soon. I will support whatever decision he takes,” Sattar told media persons in Sangamner,
Congress MP AGAINST ‘selective prohibition’
The lone Congress MP from Maharashtra, Suresh alias Balu Dhanorkar, has raised his voice against selective prohibition in the state.
In his first media interaction after being elected as the Congress MP from Chandrapur, the former Shiv Sena MLA demanded that the arbitrary prohibition in the Chandrapur district be done away with.
“Why is prohibition enforced only in certain districts and not everywhere in the state?” Dhanorkar, who runs a liquor business in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha, asked.
“Not only does liquor flow to Chandrapur from neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, but the state also loses a lot in revenue,” he said.