Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion to make Sujay contest on NCP ticket was political suicide: Vikhe-Patil

Vikhe-Patil, who has resigned as the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, added that he will decide his future course of action after meeting party workers after the elections results are declared. Click here for more election news

On state Congress chief Ashok Chavan’s statement that Vikhe-Patil will be issued a showcause notice for indulging in alleged anti-party activities, the senior leader said he has not received any such notice. “I will decide what to do when I get the notice,” he added.

Vikhe-Patil, who wanted his son to contest from Ahmednagar, had submitted his resignation to the top leadership of the party immediately after Sujay had quit the Congress to join the BJP in March. The BJP had fielded Sujay from Ahmednagar, which went to polls on April 23.

Vikhe-Patil had discreetly canvassed for Sujay, and on Friday, campaigned for sitting Sena MP from Shirdi, Sadashiv Lokhande, in Ahmednagar district.

Asked why he was not present for Rahul’s Friday rally at Sangamner, Vikhe-Patil said that his name was not on the list of attendees. “The state leadership had also removed my picture from campaign posters, so, it was decided that they do not want me to campaign,” he added.

On campaigning for Lokhande, he denied that he attended the rally. “Mi tya Sabha madhhye nohto (I was not there at the Shiv Sena sabha),” he claimed.

“I have been the Leader of the Opposition for the last four-and-a-half years and fulfilled my responsibility. I have been encouraging and supporting our MLAs,

and at the district level, our candidates won the Zilla Parishad elections. So, when seat allocation talks were underway, we had pointed out that Ahmednagar should be given to Congress. I even met Sharad Pawar,” he said.

“Naturally, it came as a shock when the Congress leadership encouraged us to join NCP and advising that Sujay should contest on the NCP symbol. The party has failed us and instead of supporting us and the work done during my tenure, it told us to go to NCP,” Vikhe-Patil alleged.

“We did not get justice from the Congress leadership. I was deeply hurt but Sujay had made up his mind and after Sharad Pawar made several uncalled for statements about Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, his resolve to quit the party was strengthened.”

He was referring to Pawar’s statement on how he ensured the defeat of Vikhe-Patil’s father Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil at an election in the early 1990s and that he also remembered the lawsuit the late Congress leader had filed against him.

“However, after my son joined BJP, I felt it was morally right to resign as the Leader of Opposition. In fact, I had also decided not to canvass for Sujay but changed my mind

after Pawar made uncalled statements against Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil. However, a picture was painted that the battle was between Vikhe-Patil and Pawar,” said Vikhe-Patil.

He added: “I finally decided to support my son.”

On why he did not campaign for Congress-NCP candidates despite being a Congress star campaigner, Vikhe-Patil said: “I felt that my personal decision to support my son should not be unnecessarily misused against Congress-NCP candidates at other constituencies. So, I stayed away…”