Congress state unit chief Ashok Chavan on Saturday announced expulsion of the party’s Aurangabad legislator Abdul Sattar for “anti-party activities.” He also indicated that the leader of Opposition in Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil – who is openly campaigning for his son Sujay, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Ahmednagar – may face action.
Sattar, MLA from Sillod in Aurangabad, recently opposed the Lok Sabha candidature given by the party to Subhash Zambad for the Aurangabad seat. Sattar first filed papers as an Independent candidate, but later withdrew it and pledged support to Shiv Sena rebel Harshvardhan Jadhav, who is contesting as an Independent. Sattar said he would clarify his stand after April 23, the day of voting in Aurangabad.
Asked about Vikhe Patil, Chavan said the state unit of Congress has conveyed its opinions to party president Rahul Gandhi. “We are expecting something soon,” said Chavan.
Senior Congress leaders, including Balasaheb Thorat, have demanded that he be sacked as leader of Opposition.
Vikhe Patil wanted the party to get the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat in its seat-sharing arrangement with ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). After NCP refused to concede the seat, Sujay joined the BJP last month. Vikhe Patil initially said he had no role in Sujay’s decision, but NCP later complained to Chavan that he was campaigning for his son.
Significantly, Vikhe Patil chose not to share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his rally for Sujay in Ahmednagar. There were speculations that Vikhe Patil would soon join the BJP as he had told a news channel that he would take a major decision in coming days.
First Published:
Apr 21, 2019 07:16 IST
Source: HindustanTimes