‘Will continue to support MVA’: After meeting Fadnavis, lone PWP legislator in Maharashtra, Babasaheb Deshmukh, clears the air

Speaking to The Indian Express, Deshmukh said he had received a call from Fadnavis to congratulate him on his win. “During the call, he (Fadnavis) also spoke about my grandfather (Ganpatrao Deshmukh) who was an iconic figure in the state,” he said, adding that Fadnavis talked about how Ganpatrao helped him during his initial days as an MLA.

“As we were in Mumbai, we went to meet Devendra-ji and I congratulated him on the win,” he said.

The question of supporting the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance does not arise due to the ideological differences, Deshmukh said, adding: “I will continue to be with the Maha Vikas Aghadi.”

His grandfather, the late Ganpatrao Deshmukh, had the rare distinction of being elected from Sangola on a PWP ticket for a record 11 times. Now Babasaheb, a cardiologist, will represent the Assembly constituency in Solapur district.

As a veteran politician, Ganapatrao had friends across the political spectrum and shared good relations with all.

In 2019, Shahajibapu Patil of the then-undivided Sena narrowly managed to win the Sangola seat by defeating Babasaheb’s brother Aniket. This time, Babasaheb defeated Patil – who stood as the MVA candidate — by a comfortable margin of over 25,000 votes.

The Mahayuti is all set to form the next government in Maharashtra, having won 235 of the total 288 seats in the Assembly while the Opposition MVA had to be content with just 49 seats.