Our support to you was invisible: Harshavardhan Patil

After Indapur, next is Phaltan: Sharad Pawar

Our fight is not within the state, it is with Delhi: Jayant Patil

This 40% sarkar needs to go: Supriya Sule

Indapur, October 7, 2024: Former Cabinet Minister Harshvardhan Patil officially joined the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) at a massive rally in Indapur, his home constituency, ending weeks of speculation about his political future. 

Patil, one of the most high profile leaders to switch over to the NCP (SP) in recent months, had joined the BJP from the Congress before the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections. 

He was welcomed into the NCP (SP) by party president Sharad Pawar, state president Jayant Patil, Baramati MP and working president Supriya Sule, Shirur MP Amol Kolhe, Madha MP Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil, and other senior party leaders. 

Addressing the rally, Sharad Pawar praised Patil for his enduring dedication to agricultural policy and rural development, highlighting the significant contributions made by both Harshvardhan and his father, former Baramati MP Shankarrao Patil.

"We may have been in different parties, but when it came to the welfare of Maharashtra’s farmers, we always worked together. Harshvardhan has always been the first choice whenever new leadership was needed for agricultural reforms. This is not just a decision for Indapur, but for sugarcane farmers across Maharashtra and for the agriculture sector of the entire country," said Pawar.

Harshvardhan Patil, in his speech, acknowledged the strong backing he received from the people of Indapur and his long-standing support for Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha elections.

“Our support to you was invisible,” said Patil, referring to his behind-the-scenes support for Sule during the Baramati Lok Sabha contest. 

“Lies are believed quickly, but they don’t last long. The truth may take time, but it endures,” he said, explaining his departure from the BJP. Patil shared details of a lengthy discussion he had with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

“I had a two-hour conversation with Fadnavis. I shared my struggles, and he shared his. He offered alternatives, but the people of Indapur had already made up their minds. Our pain was elsewhere, but that pain has now been relieved,” Patil said in a cryptic message aimed at leaders from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP.

State President Jayant Patil also spoke at the rally, emphasizing the need to rally behind Sharad Pawar against what he described as Delhi's attempts to control Maharashtra.

“Whenever Delhi tried to rule over Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar showed them the strength of Maharashtra’s self-respect. If you want to strengthen Pawar Saheb’s hands in fighting back, we must elect as many MLAs as possible across the state. Our fight is not within the state; it is with Delhi,” he stated.

Jayant Patil took aim at the Ajit Pawar-led faction, joking, "Our house was a little crowded, so there wasn’t enough space for you." 

“The Home Minister is from Nagpur, yet we see police officers gambling in a Nagpur police station. When our sisters step out of their homes, we don’t know if they will return safely,” he said, addressing rising crime against women and the troubling state of law enforcement.

Supriya Sule, in her address, highlighted Harshvardhan Patil's familial ties with the Pawar family and took a dig at the Ajit Pawar faction’s election symbol. 

"Where do you see the time? On your watch or your mobile? Do you really need the watch?" she asked, referring to the Election Commission’s decision to allocate the clock symbol to the Ajit Pawar faction that the NCP (SP) has gone to the Supreme Court against.

"This government is taking a commission of 40%. This '40% sarkar' needs to go," Sule added, pointing to the Pune Ring Road project’s cost escalation from ₹12,000 crores to ₹42,000 crores in just three years.

The rally concluded with Sharad Pawar hinting at further political developments, saying, "After Indapur, next is Phaltan," alluding to speculation around Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar’s potential entry into the NCP (SP).