India, May 31 -- In a setback to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), former minister Prajakt Tanpure (49) joined the BJP in Mumbai on Saturday. He is likely to be rewarded with the party's candidature for the Ahmednagar (Ahilyanagar) seat in the imminent legislative council elections. After joining the BJP, Tanpure said he was "ready to shoulder any responsibility".

That Tanpure would quit the party was more or less clear when he refused to contest the by-election in his Rahuri assembly constituency following the death of sitting BJP legislator Shivajirao Kardile who had defeated him in 2024. His withdrawal, done at the behest of Devendra Fadnavis, effectively turned the election into a cakewalk for the BJP.

On Saturday, Tanpure, along with ...