Maha BJP chief Bawankule says more Oppn leaders will join BJP ahead of 2024 Elections

Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Maharashtra BJP chief, made a massive claim on the sidelines of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as he said more leaders from the Opposition camp will be joining the saffron party. On Sunday, while addressing the media in Ahmednagar district, the BJP leader asserted that he cannot guess any names from the opposition bloc that might switch loyalties after Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis presents the 2024-25 budget.

Notably, the elections to Lok Sabha as well as the Maharashtra Assembly are due next year. "More people from the other side (opposition) will join BJP ahead of elections in 2024. I cannot tell now who will jump, but the time will decide," he said.

"When state finance minister Devendra Fadnavis presented the state budget recently under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the facial expressions of Opposition leaders were self-explanatory. You will see when Fadnavis will present the next budget (2024-25), many will change their political affiliations to join BJP," Bawankule claimed.

Bawankule refused to make any comment on the seat-sharing formula between the BJP and the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, stating that the top ministers will take a call in this context. Earlier this month, Bawankule said that the BJP and the Shiv Sena will contest all 288 Assembly and 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in alliance with other constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Chandrashekhar Bawankule replaced Chandrakant Patil in the party's Maharashtra leadership as he became the Minister in the newly-sworn cabinet of the BJP-Shiv Sena government. He has represented Kamthi Assembly in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for three terms (2004, 2009, and 2014). In January this year, he was elected to the Legislative Council. He joined BJP in 1995 under the leadership of the late Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari.