In a significant setback for the Congress party, Maharashtra's working president, Basavaraj Patil, has resigned from the grand old party. Patil is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later today in the presence of state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bavankule and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. A two-term MLA from the Ausa constituency in Maharashtra, Patil has been a prominent Lingayat leader in the Marathwada region and previously served as a state minister in his first term.
The development comes amidst a series of high-profile exits from the Congress in the state. Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, ex-Union Minister Milind Deora, and parliamentary board member Baba Siddique have already parted ways with the party. Chavan is currently aligned with the BJP, Deora is associated with the Shiv Sena, and Siddique has joined Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The political landscape in Maharashtra has witnessed several changes, particularly with key leaders switching alliances ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance secured 41 out of 48 seats, with the BJP winning 23 and the Shiv Sena securing 18 seats. The Congress managed to retain only one seat, while the Nationalist Congress Party retained four of its seats. In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 23 seats, the Shiv Sena got 18, and the Congress, facing a decline, secured only two seats compared to its 17-seat tally in 2009. Sharad Pawar's NCP won four seats in the 2014 polls.