Mumbai: In what could come as a jolt to the BJP, the saffron party’s sitting Jalgaon MP Unmesh Patil, who has been denied a ticket, rushed to Mumbai and met Shiv Sena (UBT) head and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday.
Jalgaon, located in North Maharashtra and traditionally considered a stronghold for the BJP, is scheduled to vote in Phase 4 of the elections.
Before meeting with Thackeray, a prominent figure within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, Patil engaged in consecutive discussions with Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.
State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule has also reached out to Patil.
This time, the BJP has awarded the ticket to Smita Wagh, a former Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), who previously served as the Maharashtra BJP’s women's wing chief. Prior to this role, she held the position of Jalgaon Zilla Parishad President.
In 2019, Wagh had to withdraw her candidacy when the BJP opted to grant the ticket to Patil.
In 2014, at the age of 52, Patil was elected as an MLA from Chalisgaon. He subsequently served as the Chairman of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd from 2015 to 2019, before successfully securing the ticket for the Lok Sabha polls.
Patil achieved a notable feat by winning Jalgaon with the second-highest number of votes, amounting to 713,874 (65.6 percent), and securing the third-highest victory margin of 411,617 votes. The MP for Mumbai North, Gopal Shetty, attained the highest victory margin, with 465,247 votes from a total count of 706,678 (71.40 percent).
However, both Patil and Shetty have been dropped by the BJP this time around to make room for Wagh and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, respectively.
Asked about the development, Raut said: “You will receive news about Unmesh Patil very soon”.
If Patil decides to switch sides, this move will significantly bolster the Shiv Sena (UBT). According to reports, Patil, along with his politician wife Sampada and a substantial number of supporters, may defect to Thackeray’s party.