If politicians jumping ship is a norm during the elections, the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra is perhaps witnessing a new trend. At least five BJP leaders have switched to other Mahayuti partners in a bid to secure tickets, even as the sanctity of the coalition's seat-sharing agreement has been retained. An analysis of such switchovers shows that all these turncoats who have shifted to the BJP's allies have been allotted tickets for the November 20 state Assembly elections. These candidates have either joined the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena or the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The development is being seen as an “internal arrangement” within the incumbent coalition to ensure that the “strongest candidate” is fielded by it without violating the number of seats allotted to each partner. The BJP’s Nilesh Rane, son of former CM and Union minister Naryan Rane, joined the Shinde Sena earlier this week to contest on its ticket from the Kudal-Sawantwadi Assembly seat, which had been allocated to the Sena. Rane, a former Congress MP who joined the BJP in 2019, will take on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT)’s sitting MLA Vaibhav Naik, who is also a staunch opponent of the Rane family. The Sena (UBT) is a constituent of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Four other BJP leaders have joined the NCP to contest from its allotted seats. On Friday, two BJP leaders from Sangli, former MP Sanjaykaka Patil and district BJP president Nishikant Bhosale Patil, joined the NCP in the presence of its chief Ajit Pawar and state party president Sunil Tatkare in Mumbai. Close on the heels of their induction, the NCP named them as the party’s candidates – Nishikant from the Islampur Assembly seat and Sanjaykaka from the Tasgaon constituency. Sanjaykaka will be in the fray against the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP)’s Rohit Patil, son of the late NCP leader R R Patil, who is making his electoral debut. Nishikant has been pitted against the NCP (SP)’s sitting MLA and state president Jayant Patil. After joining the NCP, Nishikant said that he had switched over from the BJP on the directions of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. “I had to shift to the NCP from the BJP as the Islampur Assembly seat went to the NCP. I will win the election from the Islampur seat on the NCP ticket,” said Nishikant, who had contested the seat as an Independent in the 2019 Assembly polls and finished as the runner-up. On Friday, Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar, a BJP leader from the Nanded district, also joined the NCP to contest the Loha Assembly constituency on its ticket. The former Nanded MP has been a two-time MLA from Loha. On Wednesday, the BJP’s Raj Badole, a former state minister, had joined the NCP and is set to contest as its candidate from the Arjuni-Morgaon Assembly seat, which he has represented twice but lost in the 2019 polls.
