In a significant update, former Union Minister Suryakanta Patil who has resigned from the BJP yesterday (June 23), is likely to rejoin Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today. Patil, who joined the BJP in 2014, has expressed dissatisfaction with the party in recent days. She will officially rejoin the NCP today at the party office in Mumbai, in the presence of NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar.
Suryakanta Patil, a seasoned politician, had sought a BJP ticket for the Hingoli Lok Sabha constituency. However, was denied the ticket, post which she publicly voiced her displeasure on social media. In her resignation statement, Patil mentioned, "I have learned a lot in the last 10 years, and I am grateful to the party."
Significasntly, Patil has a distinguished political career, having represented the Hingoli-Nanded constituency four times as a Member of Parliament and once as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. She served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development and later in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
Political Career Highlights
- 1970-1972: Jansangh leader and BJP Mahila Aghadi chief
- 1980: Elected MLA from Hadgaon constituency on a Congress ticket
- 1980-1985: Member of the Legislative Assembly
- 1986: Appointed to the Rajya Sabha by Rajiv Gandhi
- 1991: Won the Nanded Lok Sabha seat from Congress with a record 137,000 votes
- 1996: Contested and won the Lok Sabha election from Hingoli for Congress
- 1999: Joined NCP
- 1998: Won the Lok Sabha elections from Hingoli as an NCP candidate
- 2004: Elected as Lok Sabha member from NCP
- 2009: Lost the Lok Sabha elections
- 2014: Joined BJP after Congress fielded Rajeev Satav from Hingoli
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