MUMBAI, 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 his supporters, arrived at the BJP headquarters at Nariman Point where he was welcomed by the party's Maharashtra chief Ravindra Chavan. "I am hopeful that the issues concerning my constituency will now receive greater attention and get resolved," he said after his induction. Tanpure served as a minister during the tenure of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. In the November 2024 assembly elections, he lost the Rahuri seat to BJP candidate Shivaji Kardile. The seat fell vacant following Kardile's death in October 2025. However, instead of attempting to reclaim the constituency, Tanpure chose to stay out of the contest following Fadnavis's intervention. Meanwhile, speculation is rife that another former minister, Rajesh Tope, may join the BJP. Tope is considered as one of the last loyalists of Sharad Pawar. When contacted, Tope denied the rumour and said, "I am very much part of the NCP (SP) and will continue to work for it."...