Denied ticket, BJP's Jalgaon MP Unmesh Patil joins Sena (UBT)

Mumbai: Unmesh Patil, the BJP MP from Jalgaon in north Maharashtra who failed to get the saffron party ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, joined the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday.

Patil joined the Sena (UBT) at 'Matoshree', the residence of party head and former state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Mumbai, along with his followers.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Patil joining the party will bolster its prospects in Jalgaon and north Maharashtra and make its path to victory easier.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has replaced Patil with Smita Wagh in the Jalgaon parliamentary constituency.

Patil met Raut here on Tuesday, sparking speculation about his future political move.

The BJP is fighting the Lok Sabha polls, to be held in five phases in Maharashtra from April 19 to May 20, as part of the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar as its two other constituents.

Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats.