Ahead of elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Udayanraje Bhosale resigned as Lok Sabha MP on Saturday and joined the BJP in presence of top party leaders, including party president Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Bhosale, who is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is the latest prominent leader to quit Sharad Pawar's party to join the BJP. It was a 'ghar wapsi' for Bhosale, who was a minister of state for revenue in the BJP-Shiv Sena government during 1995-99 and had quit the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2009. He subsequently joined the NCP and was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections from the Satara seat. Bhosale, who had strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP during the Lok Sabha campaign, after joining the saffron party, showered praise on Modi saying that he was inspired by his policies, including the abrogation of Article 370. "I am inspired by the works and leadership of PM Modi, Amit Shah, and the BJP. I am happy to see that the BJP is following the path of Shivaji Maharaj to strengthen the country," said Bhosale. On Saturday morning, Bhosale met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitted his resignation from the Lower House. Later he arrived at the residence of Amit Shah, where he formally joined the BJP in the presence of Working President JP Nadda, Fadnavis, and several other senior leaders. Shah, while welcoming Bhosale, said, "The BJP and the Jana Sangh have always followed the ideologies of Shivaji Maharaj. And it is great that one of his family members has joined the party. He resigned as an MP within four months on moral grounds to join the BJP, which is a matter of pride," he said. Even though Bhosale has joined the BJP, he will have to struggle to transform his image within the disciplined party. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, despite the opposition of Satara district leaders over Bhosale's alleged anti-party activities, had given him party nomination in the 2019 election. Bhosale has been accused of murder, extortion, kidnapping, engaging in scuffles and fights, in the past. While the Bombay High Court had acquitted Bhosale in the killing of NCP councillor Sharad Leve, the state government had challenged the verdict and the order in the case is pending. He was also accused of creating hurdles in the government's functioning. Meanwhile, NCP spokesman Nawab Malik commented that Bhosale was defeated in the 1999 assembly election and he will face a similar defeat as BJP nominee.

Stay updated with all the Mumbai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.