Before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Archana Patil Chakurkar, daughter-in-law of former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil, officially joined the BJP, with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in attendance on Saturday.
State BJP Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule also attended Chakurkar’s induction into the party.
Archana Patil Chakurkar serves as the chairperson of the Lifecare Hospital and Research Centre in Udgir, while her husband, Shailesh Patil Chandurkar, holds the position of Congress’ state secretary.
Ms Chakurkar met Fadnavis at his official residence ‘Sagar’ in south Mumbai on Friday.
Shivraj Patil held the position of Union Home Minister under the Congress-led UPA government from 2004 to 2008.
In Nagpur, Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Navneet Rana joined the BJP in the presence of BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
“For the last five years, I was working on the ideas of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, my ideology is no different. My husband, MLA Ravi Rana, also supported the BJP government in Maharashtra. PM Modi supports those working at ground level, he gave me the ticket. The BJP has honoured my hard work, and we will fulfil our resolve of crossing 400 by winning the election…I will work as a dedicated worker for the BJP,” Rana said.
The BJP has nominated Navneet Rana from Amravati in Maharashtra and Govind Karjol from Chitradurga in Karnataka, both of which are reserved seats for candidates from the Scheduled Caste community. Rana previously won the Amravati seat as an independent candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
After marrying BJP politician Ravi Rana, Navneet Rana embarked on her political journey. In 2014, she made her initial bid for office from Amravati on the NCP platform, albeit unsuccessfully. Subsequently, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rana contested as an independent candidate and secured the opportunity to represent Amravati.
The Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra are scheduled to take place in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. Vote counting is slated for June 4.
With its 48 Lok Sabha seats, Maharashtra ranks as the second-largest contributor to the lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh. Renowned for its political diversity and considerable electoral sway, Maharashtra holds pivotal importance in shaping national politics.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured the most seats, claiming 23, while the Shiv Sena followed closely with 18 seats.
