No poll alliance with those who betrayed us, says Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil
Aurangabad, Sep 4: Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Saturday said his party would henceforth not contest polls in alliance with those who had betrayed it, an apparent reference to the Shiv Sena which walked out of a partnership several decades old and formed a government in the state with the NCP and Congress in 2019.
Speaking to reporters in Jalna, some 60 kilometres from here, Patil said the BJP was getting good response from the people of the state, and, therefore, there was no need to ally with people who got votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his efficient administration and then switched sides.
"We will not ally with those who got the chief minister's post with 56 seats in the Assembly (a reference to the Sena) or a party which got the deputy CM's post (NCP) with 54 seats, or with those who got the revenue minister's post with 44 seats (Congress)," Patil asserted.
"Whenever polls take place, we will ally with those who always stood by us, like Ramdas Athawale, Sadabahu Khot, Mahadev Jankar, Vinayak Mete, Vinay Kore etc," he added.
He also hit out at Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for constantly speaking about a third wave of COVID-19, adding that "as the second wave had declined, there was need to normalise life with precautions".
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Rahul Gandhi joins Haryana Congress leader's 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined the 'Sadbhav Yatra' of Haryana Congress leader Brijendra Singh here.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reached Gurugram in the evening and joined the yatra. He also walked some distance with Brijendra, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh and other leaders.
Huge crowds had turned up for the occasion.
Later, Gandhi proceeded to the venue where he addressed a public gathering.
Leader of Opposition in Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders, including Randeep Singh Surjewala, B K Hariprasad, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, were also present.
Brijendra Singh had on Thursday said it is a matter of joy for them that Gandhi was joining the 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram-Badshahpur, "thereby strengthening the Indian National Congress' campaign for brotherhood and harmony".
The 'Sadbhav Yatra' began from Danoda village at Narwana in Jind on October 5, 2025, and has covered 85 of the 90 assembly segments in the state.
The foot march was started by Brijendra Singh, son of Congress veteran Birender Singh, to highlight several national and regional issues.
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh had asked all party leaders to take part in Friday's event.
Days before his yatra began in October, Brijendra Singh, who narrowly lost the 2024 assembly polls from Jind's Uchana Kalan, accused the ruling BJP of playing "divisive politics" and said that "sadbhav" (harmony) has come under stress in the last decade.
Brijendra Singh was a sitting MP from Hisar for the BJP when he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election and switched over to the Congress. He also alleged that the saffron party creates a wedge in society to achieve its political purpose.
The 'padyatra' has so far covered 85 assembly constituencies in Haryana, traversing more than 2,700 kilometres.
Addressing the public gathering, Brijendra Singh said the yatra is inspired by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he took the party's vision and values directly to the people of the country.
Singh said the yatra has highlighted issues like "Vote Chori" (vote theft), unemployment, poor law and order situation, agrarian distress, and issues related to government employees, labourers and traders.
"Sadbhav (harmony) and bhaichara (brotherhood), which the BJP is attempting to weaken, are the messages of this yatra," he said, adding that its slogan is "Congress ka haath bhaichara ka saath".
"This yatra is a natural extension of the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Brijendra Singh said.
