Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Senior Congress leader Ravi Raja joins BJP after ticket snub

Raja joined the BJP in presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP’s Mumbai unit President Ashish Shelar.

Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Ravi Raja on Thursday disassociated with the grand old party after a 44-year-stint and joined the BJP.

Raja was keen to contest the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls from Sion-Koliwada in Mumbai, however, the party did not consider his nomination.

Raja joined the BJP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP’s Mumbai unit President Ashish Shelar.

Raja was immediately appointed as the BJP Mumbai Vice President.

The Congress turncoat a has been a Corporator in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation for close to a quarter of a century and had also served as Leader of the Opposition in the civic body.

He had also been a member of the BrihanMumbai Electricity Supply and Transport’s Committee - and is considered an encyclopaedia on matters related to BEST.

"It is unfortunate that the Congress never utilised my abilities and capabilities. I request BJP to use my capabilities," he said, adding that for 44 years, he had served the Congress honestly, however, people with very less experience and newcomers have been favoured over loyalists.

"Raja is a learned, hardworking leader. He has a record of serving on the BEST Committee for 23 long years, he has served as the opposition leader in BMC. We are glad such a senior leader is joining us," Fadnavis said, adding that many more leaders of Congress will join the BJP in days to come.

The Congress renominated from Sion-Koliwada, Ganesh Yadav even though he lost to Captain Tamil Selvan of the BJP by a margin of over 14,000 votes in the 2019 Assembly polls. Captain Tamil Selvan, the sitting MLA from Sion-Koliwada who has been renominated by the BJP, was also present when Raja joined the party.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress President Prof Varsha Gaikwad said: "We had a discussion with him around 2 days ago. He had promised that he is with us and he is a Congressman but don't know what happened yesterday all of a sudden. The party has given him a lot though he did not get a ticket this time. He should have stayed back...now that he is gone, hope he stays happy wherever he stays".

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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