Radhakrishna's bonhomie with key BJP leadership gains strength

NASHIK

: The new-found bonhomie between disgruntled Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and the BJP is gaining strength, as was evident on Wednesday where the leader shared the stage with two heavyweights of the

saffron

party.


State revenue minister

Chandrakant

Patil and Ram Shinde were the special guests for the programme that was held to celebrate the 87th birth anniversary of

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil

(Radhakrishna's father). The event, organised by Vikhe Patil Foundation, was held at Loni in

Ahmednagar district

. The foundation is headed Sujay, who fought the elections from

Ahmednagar

constituency on a BJP ticket.

Sources in the Ahmednagar district BJP unit admitted that the leaders sharing one platform was 'politically significant' as it clearly demonstrated the strong bond that was developing between Radhakrishna and the BJP. "The invitation to the senior BJP functionaries and their presence has further fuelled speculations of the Congress stalwart's entry into the BJP," remarked a senior state BJP leader.

The leader further said that since the relationship between Radhakrishna and UPA had reached a point of no return, the Congress leader had no option but to rely on the BJP for his political future. Although Radhakrishna had campaigned extensively for Sujay in Ahmednagar, he did not share the stage with any senior BJP leader during the poll campaign in Ahmednagar.

Chandrakant Patil told TOI, "People should not read too much into this. Balasaheb was a political stalwart hence, we were there to pay tribute to him. It is for Radhakrishna to decide if he wants to join BJP. Our party is ready to welcome anyone who is eager to join."

Some state BJP leaders did not rule out the possibility of Fadnavis allocating a ministerial portfolio to Radhakrishna.

The relationship between him and the Congress-NCP combine soured since the

Lok Sabha

elections when NCP turned down his offer to allow his son Sujay to contest on a Congress ticket from Ahmednagar, a seat that remains a bastion of NCP.