BJP

NEW DELHI: In a fresh jolt to NCP, Satara MP Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale Joined BJP on Saturday in the presence of BJP president Amit Shah and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis , with Shah asserting that the BJP-led alliance will come back to power in the state with three-fourths majority.Bhosale, who draws his political influence due to his descendance from Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji's family, said he agreed with the policies pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will work for Maharashtra as aleader.On Saturday, Bhosale submitted his resignation from Lok Sabha to Speaker Om Birla before joining the BJP.He was one of only four MPs from Sharad Pawar’s party.On Friday, former NCP state president and Guhagar MLA Bhaskar Jadhav, along with former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, were welcomed to Shiv Sena by Uddhav Thackeray.Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is believed to have been in two minds on joining BJP. On Friday, he cleared the air, tweeting he will join BJP in New Delhi in the presence of PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and CM Devendra Fadnavis. Bhosale was minister of state for revenue during the Sena-BJP rule between 1995 and 1999. Since 2009, he has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Satara. In 2019, he defeated Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Patil. In the byelection now, Sena will have to leave the seat for BJP.Significantly, Bhosale held a marathon meeting with Pawar in Pune on Thursday. He is among the half a dozen high profile NCP leaders, like Vijaysinh Mohite Patil and his family, former state NCP president Madhukar Pichad and former minister Ganesh Naik, who have deserted the party recently.Read this report in Marathi