Congress MLC Pradnya Satav abandons party just before local polls to join BJP

Legislative Council (MLC) Congress Member Pradnya Satav resigned from the Upper House of the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday and joined the BJP.

“On the insistence of workers, I joined the BJP family to realize Raju Satav’s unfulfilled dream of development and contribute to development led by Devendra Fadnavis,” said Ms. Satav, a close confidant of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and wife of late Rajiv Satav.

Ms. Satav joined the BJP in the presence of Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Maharashtra BJP President Ravindra Chavan. His departure from the Congress created a storm, with the party accusing the BJP of dispersing parties with money and other temptations.

money power

Congress leader Nana Patole stated that the Prime Minister talked about an India without Congress, and that now they are slowly starting to include Congress people in their party. “He may have come under the influence of the BJP. I am not sure with what kind of attraction he joined the BJP. The BJP was all about money coming from power and power coming from money,” he added.

Ms. Satav’s exit from the Congress ahead of local body elections on January 15 is seen as another major setback for the party after former MLA from Solapur district Dilip Mane joined the BJP.

Former Congressman and BJP leader Ashok Chavan termed this transition as “insecurity about the future” and said many senior party workers left as they saw the Congress left leaderless. He also denied playing a role in Ms Satav’s change.

Ms. Satav was elected to the MLC for the first time in 2021, and was re-nominated in July 2024 to serve until 2030.

NCP-SP leader Supriya Şule also pointed out her relationship with Ms. Satav and described the decision as “shocking” and said, “The family believed in the Congress ideology and had a family relationship with the Congress. Therefore, it is difficult to understand what the reason could be.”