Harshvardhan Patil Contemplates Political Future Post-Pitru Paksha

Maharashtra BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil is considering contesting the upcoming assembly polls from Indapur after the Pitru paksha period ends. Speculation suggests he might switch to NCP (SP). Patil has previously won multiple terms but lost to NCP's Dattatray Bharne in the 2019 elections. The seat sharing formula for the ruling alliance remains undecided.

Maharashtra BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil announced on Saturday that he will decide whether to contest the upcoming assembly elections from his traditional seat in Indapur, Pune's Baramati tehsil, after the Pitru paksha period.

Speculation has been growing that Patil may consider joining the NCP (SP) to run for the polls. Patil has previously held the Indapur seat multiple times, but lost in 2014 and 2019 to Dattatray Bharne of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Patil lost the 2019 assembly elections to Bharne by 3,110 votes. Bharne is now aligned with Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP, part of the ruling coalition with the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. The seat-sharing arrangement within the alliance has yet to be finalized, but Indapur could go to the Ajit Pawar faction if seats are allocated based on sitting MLAs. Patil confirmed that he has been consulting constituents and will decide after Pitru paksha, a 16-day period considered inauspicious for new ventures.

(With inputs from agencies.)