Many leaders in queue to join BJP: Fadnavis
Mumbai, May 24: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday claimed that many leaders from various parties in Maharashtra are ready to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon.
"Several leaders are enthusiastically queuing up to join the BJP. Just wait and watch," Fadnavis said, while welcoming former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Niranjan Davkhare to the party fold.
He added that the BJP was always ready to accommodate people who were doing good work for the people and society and the entry of a youth leader like Davkhare "would be an asset to the party".
"What Maharashtra has achieved in the past four years was never seen in the earlier two decades. Similarly, in the past 25 years, the one government that has stood behind the people like the Himalayas is the present (Modi) government," Fadnavis said.
Today's development came amidst fresh political speculation that another NCP legislator and Mathadi labour leader, Narendra Patil, was likely to cross over to the BJP soon.
On Wednesday, jolted by Davkhare's move to quit the party and his membership of the Legislative Council, the NCP retaliated by suspending him from the party membership for six years for anti-party utterances and activities.
Davkhare, 39, is the son of the late NCP leader Vasant Davkhare, who was among the closest aides of party President Sharad Pawar, and a former Deputy Chairman of the Upper House, besides holding other important posts.
"Sharad Pawar is a great leader. However, I wanted the opportunity to work under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Davkhare said as BJP state President Raosaheb Patil-Danve formally inducted him into the party.
On quitting, Davkhare had on Wednesday said he was "feeling very sad to leave the NCP", whose birth and growth he had witnessed along with his father, "but I am totally fed up with the local intra-party politics".
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced another round of elections to two Graduates and two Teachers Division constituencies in the Upper House to be held on June 8.
The four retiring members are: Apoorva P. Hiray (BJP) from Nashik Division Teachers constituency, Kapil Patil (JD-U) of Mumbai Division Teachers constituency, Deepak Sawant (Shiv Sena) from Mumbai Division Graduates constituency and Davkhare from Konkan Division Graduates constituency.
However, it is not clear if Davkhare will be given BJP ticket to contest the bye-polls to the Upper House next month.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
