NCP suffers jolt at time of Opposition unity

At a time when the Opposition unity against the BJP was witnessed in Karnataka, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party suffered a jolt when an MLC tendered his resignation and is all set to join the BJP.

Niranjan Davkhare, the son of late Vasant Davkhare - who was one of the closest aides of Pawar - quit the NCP.

Niranjan was a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Konkan Graduates constituency, and his resignation comes barely a month ahead of the polls to the Upper House.

Niranjan called on Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, the chairman of the Council and tendered his resignation. He also submitted his resignation from the party to state NCP president Jayant Patil.

"It is very sad to leave NCP, but I am fed up of local politics," he said in a statement. Vasant Davkhare passed away on January 5 after a brief illness.

He was a member of the Thane local constituency for 24 consecutive years, despite the fact that the Shiv Sena ruled the Thane Municipal Corporation. He had also been the deputy chairman of the Council.

The Election Commission announced a second round of elections to two Graduates and two Teachers Division constituencies in the Council, which will go to polls on June 8.

The four retiring members are Dr Apoorva P Hiray (BJP) from Nashik division teachers constituency, Kapil Patil (Janata Dal-United) from Mumbai division teachers constituency, Dr Deepak R Sawant (Shiv Sena) from Mumbai division graduates constituency and Niranjan.

The elections have been necessitated as the term of these four members ends on July 7. The last date for filing of nomination papers is May 22. Polling will be held on June 8, while counting of votes and results will be declared on June 12.