Sushilkumar Claims Offer From BJP, Bawankule Denies It

Mumbai: Amidst the talks of some Congress leaders joining the BJP in Maharashtra, veteran Congress leader and former CM Sushilkumar Shinde claimed that he and his daughter MLA Praniti Shinde received an offer to join the saffron party. However, he denied the reports of joining the BJP saying his ideology was committed to Congress.

At a function at Akkalkot in Solapur, Shinde revealed that a ‘big’ BJP leader gave him the offer to join the saffron party. 

“Despite being defeated in Lok Sabha elections twice (in 2014 and 2019), the BJP offered me and my daughter Praniti to join. But how can it be possible? I spent my entire life in Congress and how is it possible to go to others’ houses. I never got into such a thing,” said the former union minister.

“I told that I am a devout Congressman and I will not go anywhere else by leaving Congress,” Shinde said. However, the 83-year-old veteran leader did not specify who gave him the offer saying such names are not disclosed.

The BJP, however, denied that any such offer was given to the Shinde father-daughter duo. “We have not given any offer to Shinde,” said state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule. “But they are welcome if they want to join the BJP by keeping faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.”

Meanwhile, in an interesting development, BJP minister Chandrakant Patil, who is Solapur’s guardian minister, paid a visit to Shinde’s residence in Solapur city. While details of the talks between them during the meeting were not divulged, sources said that Patil’s visit was officially aimed at giving Shinde an invitation for an upcoming literary meet.

Shinde had represented the Solapur Lok Sabha seat three times in 1998, 1999 and 2009. However, he was defeated in 2014 and 2019 polls. Last year, he announced his retirement from active politics and named his daughter Praniti Shinde (42) to contest the Solapur Lok Sabha seat. Praniti is a three-term MLA from Solapur City Central.

Shinde, known as a Gandhi-family loyalist, had served as the chief minister of Maharashtra in 2003-2004. During the UPA rule, he was the union power minister and also the home minister. He had also served as Governor of undivided Andhra Pradesh.