City
Epaper

NCP leader Jaydutta Kshirsagar joins Shiv Sena

By IANS | Updated: May 22, 2019 19:15 IST

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and former minister Jaydutta Kshirsagar on Wednesday joined the Shiv Sena, saying he felt "suffocated" in the NCP.

Open in App

Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and other senior leaders welcomed him into the party fold by tying a red thread symbolizing 'Shiv Bandhan' and handing him a miniature party flag.

Speaking on the occasion, Kshirsagar said that he felt "suffocated" in the NCP and criticized party President Sharad Pawar for the circumstances leading to his crossing over to the Shiv Sena.

Thackeray said the Sena would be further strengthened in Beed and Marathwada region with the entry of a senior and experienced leader like Kshirsagar.

However, the Sena chief refused to reveal details of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) dinner meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Thackeray also refused to comment on the recent exit poll projections predicting a huge win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and NDA, nor speculated on the probable outcome as the vote count for the seven-phased elections will be taken up on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kshirsagar tendered his resignation from the NCP and also as a legislator from Beed.

During the erstwhile Congress-NCP government he served as a minister handling various portfolios.

However, since the past couple of years, he was upset at being 'sidelined' by his nephew Sandip Kshirsagar and Leader of Opposition (Council) Dhananjay Munde in Beed and regional politics.

He had fuelled speculation over joining the BJP after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited his home in 2018 along with Minister Pankaja Munde, the cousin of Dhananjay Munde, and had once shared a public platform with the Chief Minister.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kshirsagar earned the NCP's ire after he openly campaigned for the BJP candidate Pritam Munde against the NCP's nominee Bajrang Sonavane, on account of intra-party political rivalry.

Reacting to the development, Dhananjay Munde said that Kshirsagar's plans to quit the NCP were in the air for long, "so what is the reason for the 'muhurat' taking place today", on the eve of the vote count in the parliamentary elections.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: Dhananjay MundeDevendra FadnavisPankaja Munde
Open in App

Related Stories

MumbaiMumbai: Man Arrested for Sending Obscene Messages and Making Harassing Calls to BJP Leader Pankaja Munde

MumbaiMaharashtra Day 2025: CM Devendra Fadnavis Pays Tribute to Samyukta Maharashtra Movement Martyrs at Hutatma Chowk in Mumbai

MaharashtraMaharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’s Daughter Secures 92.6% in ICSE 10th Board Exams

MaharashtraPM Modi to Inaugurate 4-Day WAVES Summit Hosted by Maharashtra Govt on May 1

MaharashtraMaharashtra Government Announces ₹50 Lakh Aid for Families Affected by Pahalgam Terror Attack

National Realted Stories

National‘Concentrate on cricket’: Odisha Minister slams Trinamool MP for his remarks on Bengali migrant workers

NationalSmall traders plan stir against e-commerce giants, quick commerce firms

NationalAndhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu keen to follow the Gujarat model

NationalIndia first country to develop genome-edited rice varieties: Minister

NationalPunjab AAP questions Congress on sharing Bhakra water with Haryana