Chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Mumbai, Sachin Ahir joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of the party chief Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai: President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Mumbai, Sachin Ahir joined the Shiv Sena on Thursday (July 25), ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly election. According to reports, more NCP leaders are expected to join the Shiv Sena soon.
Ahir formally joined the party in the presence of Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday.
Earlier, reports had mentioned that NCP leaders Ahir and Chhagan Bhujbal were likely to join the Shiv Sena on Wednesday.
Ahir — a former minister and an ex-MLA — was the Mumbai chief of the NCP before he joined the Shiv Sena. He is believed to be popular among the youth.
He was elected as an MLA from the Worli constituency in October, 2009.
Ahir joining the party has reportedly not gone down well with Shiv Sena leaders. The party’s Worli MLA Anil Shinde is likely to meet Thackeray to express his displeasure on the former minister’s induction in to the party. Ahir had been Shinde’s rival in the constituency.
However, Bhujbal is also in talks with the Shiv Sena and might return to the party later this week or early next week, reports said. He is the former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. Bhujbal started his political career with Shiv Sena in the 1960s. He joined the NCP after a span of two decades.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.