Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil squelches talk of defecting

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jayant Patil on February 19 quashed speculation that he was planning to join the BJP

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jayant Patil on February 19 quashed speculation that he was planning to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Rumours were rife that Mr. Patil, considered one of Sharad Pawar’s staunchest aides, was joining the BJP following senior Congressman Ashok Chavan’s recent defection.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Mr. Patil, a seven-term MLA from the Walwa-Islampur constituency in Sangli district, stressed that he had not received any offer from the BJP nor had any BJP leader contacted him.

“No BJP has leader has contacted me. I am in touch with all our MLAs. Everyone is in their place and there is no question of anyone going anywhere,” said Mr. Patil.

A prominent leader from western Maharashtra, Mr. Patil, who has remained unbeaten in his constituency since 1990, expressed surprise at suggestions that he allegedly met the BJP top brass in Delhi recently.

“I am surprised why such news keeps recurring. Our party, despite being broken, is being rebuilt with the support of Maharashtra’s youth,” he said.

Mr. Patil, who has held several important portfolios in the State cabinet in the past, wryly said that the fact that his name kept surfacing meant that the BJP though he was prominent enough.