Mumbai:

Congress MLA from Igatpuri, Hiraman Bhika Khoskar, has joined the Ajit Pawar led-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra. Mr Khoskar and his supporters officially joined the NCP at Ajit Pawar’s residence in Mumbai on Monday.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and State NCP President Sunil Tatkare welcomed Khoskar into the party.

“Hiraman Bhika Khoskar joined the NCP with dozens of his supporters including former Zila Parishad member Sampatnana Sakale in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra NCP President Sunil Tatkare in Pune,” said NCP’s statement.

इगतपुरीचे आमदार आणि आदिवासी समाजाचे नेते श्री. हिरामण खोसकर यांनी आज राष्ट्रवादीचे विकासाभिमुख विचार स्वीकारत माझ्या आणि प्रदेशाध्यक्ष खा. सुनील तटकरे यांच्या उपस्थितीत आपल्या प्रमुख सहकाऱ्यांसह राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेस पक्षात प्रवेश केला. आमदार खोसकर यांचा पक्षप्रवेश म्हणजे… pic.twitter.com/iYO5e6oLcS

— Ajit Pawar (@AjitPawarSpeaks) October 14, 2024

The party further highlighted that it is the “second biggest” member joining the NCP and mentioned that veteran actor Sayaji Shinde also joined the party in Mumbai.

The party also reiterated that Mr Khoskar’s joining will be strengthening the party in Nashik and surrounding areas ahead of the Assembly elections.

“Khoskar enjoys much support in Nashik region particularly in the tribal community,” the statement added.

Announcing the new member in a post on X, the party highlighted multiple other members who joined the party who have been zilla parishad members and also former officials in various districts.

Sandeep Gopal Gulve, Sampatanana Sakale, former Zilla Parishad member Jarnadan Mama Mali, Former Zilla Parishad member Uday Jadhav, Vinayak Malekar, Jairam Dhande, Prashant Kadu, Pandumama Shinde, Dnyaneshwar Kadu, Sarpanch Jagan Kadam, Feroze Shaikh, Dilip Chaudhary, Tukaram Sahane, Ramesh Jadhav, Dashrath Bhagde, Sudam Bhor, Arun Gaikar, Shivaji Sirsat also joined the NCP.

“With the entry of Khoskar, the strength of the NCP party has increased,” said the post.

Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held in 288 constituencies. The Election Commission of India has not yet announced the dates for the election.

The upcoming Maharashtra election will see a contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition — comprising the Shiv Sena-UBT, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress and the Mahayuti Alliance — which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)