Sanjaykaka Patil to return to BJP: Chandrakant Patil

Kolhapur: BJP senior leader and minister Chandrakant Patil on Sunday said that Sangli’s two-time former MP Sanjaykaka Patil, who left the party to join NCP after defeat in 2024 elections, will return to the saffron party and preparations are on to welcome him back.Speaking in Sangli, Patil who is also guardian minister of Sangli said the party has not promised anything to the former MP. “He (Patil) has to work to expand the party base. He is an established leader. Some of our leaders were sent to the NCP to contest assembly elections. However, Sanjaykaka is unable to fit into the NCP's mould and therefore urged to return to the BJP. After a green light from NCP's leaders he is returning back.

Preparations are on to welcome him back,” Patil said.According to sources, Sanjaykaka with his supporters will formally join BJP on Tuesday at the party’s state headquarters in Mumbai and then a grand rally will be held in Tasgaon or Sangli to be attended by who's who of the party.Sanjaykaka was earlier with the undivided NCP. He joined the BJP ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha elections and got the ticket. He defeated Congress’s sitting MP Pratik Patil.

In 2019, he won again in a triangular contest. However in 2024, he was defeated by Congress-backed independent candidate Vishal Patil.Sanjaykaka then joined the NCP and got the assembly ticket from Tasgaon Kavathe Mahankal assembly segment, but was defeated by late deputy chief minister R R Patil’s son Rohit who was making his debut election.Despite joining the NCP, Sanjaykaka's son Prabhakar was in the BJP, this according to the sources is among some other reasons why he decided to join the BJP.