Ex-Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s daughter-in-law joins BJP, set to take on Amit Deshmukh in Latur

Fadnavis said Archana had a “desire to associate with the BJP” because she was “drawn by the ten years of good governance under PM Narendra Modi”.

“She is the daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader Shivraj Patil. Although Shivraj Patil and we represent two different parties, we hold him in high regard,” he added.

It is learnt that BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and former Congress leader Ashok Chavan, who has been associated with Patil’s family for years, played an important role in bringing Archana to the BJP fold.

Why Latur is significant

Patil, 88, hails from the Chakor village in the Latur district of the Marathwada region. He represented the Latur Lok Sabha seat between 1980 to 2004. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha between 1991 and 1996 and the Union Home Minister in Manmohan Singh’s UPA-I government between 2004 and 2008.

At the moment, he is involved in behind-the-scenes roles for the Congress. His son Shailesh Patil, Archana’s husband, is the Congress state secretary.

A doctor, Archana has been engaged with social work through her foundation called Urja since 2005. She is also the chairperson of the Lifecare Hospital and Research Centre in Latur and has never been associated with politics before this.

“In the BJP, I see a greater prospect to pursue my social work. The ability to work is high and the party transcends caste, community and religious barriers,” she told The Indian Express.

She added that she chose the BJP because of Modi’s “focus on women empowerment”. “The legislation providing 33% reservation to women is a great step. Such initiatives give women equal opportunity and rights will empower women,” she said.

Patil has a sizeable following in Latur, Nanded and the Dharashiv districts of Marathwada region and the BJP hopes it can capitalise on this. Patil belongs to the Lingayat community, which is a sizeable voter group in parts of Marathwada and Western Maharashtra.

But it is a challenge to take on Amit, considering Latur has been a Vilasrao Deshmukh family bastion for a while now.

The former CM started his career in Latur and became CM of Maharashtra twice (1999 to 2003) and (2004 to 2008). The Deshmukh family also has strong connections to the cooperative and educational institutions in the region. The seat is also one of the remaining bastions of the Congress in the state. The party won the seat all but once under Deshmukh between 1985 to 2004. Amit has been winning the seat since.

But the BJP hopes it can make a breakthrough. Former BJP Sambhaji Patil Nilengekar said, “We wanted Archana Patil to join the BJP in 2019. But that did not happen. With her joining, the BJP will surely gain more strength in Latur.”