Nagpur: As was being anticipated, the BJP MP from Gondia-Bhandara Nana Patole has on Friday resigned as Member of Parliament. The “grudging and angry” leader, who has been in the limelight since past few months mainly for his outburst against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, arrived in Delhi and handed over his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Patole will be addressing a press conference at 2 pm to formally announce his decision. The ‘rebel’ leader in recent times had taken the BJP leadership head on over one issue or another. He continued his tirade by firing salvos after salvos against the Prime Minister and Chief Minister over farmers’ issues. A couple of days ago, Patole participated in the agitation launched by former Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha at Akola.
Currently, BJP is riling at Centre and State as well. Patole’s resignation from Lok Sabha sparked rounds of heated debate in political circles.
In the 2016 Lok Sabha election, Nanabhau defeated NCP stalwart and former Union Minister Praful Patel Patel in his bastion Gondia. The 54-year old leader was born in the family of a farmer in Bhandara. He time and again raised issues concerning the farmers. Patole started his political career as a member of the Bhandara Zilla Parishad. He contested the Assembly elections as an independent, as the Congress denied him candidature, but lost to the BJP. In 1999 and 2004, Patole won the Lakhandur Assembly seat on Congress tickets. He is known for raising public issues.
During the winter session the Assembly in 2008, Patole locked horns with the government for the paddy growers of east Vidarbha. Following differences with party leaders, he resigned from the Congress and contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate, but lost to Patel for a huge margin. But Patole avenged the defeat in 2014 Lok Sabha poll by drubbing Patel by 1.49 lakh margin.
Patole had hinted at resignation in September itself:
During his visit to Akola in September this year, Nanabhau had given enough hint of his resignation from Lok Sabha membership as well as from party. “BJP Government is blind and deaf. Hence I always oppose the wrongful policies of this government. Let the party take any action against me. I am not bothered,” he would declare.
Meanwhile, MPCC President Ashok Chavan had offered Patole to join Congress. Instead of remaining in BJP and criticise it, Nanabhau should join Congress, Chavan had said.
