BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh resigns from party, may join Congress: Maharashtra

Ashish Deshmukh, the BJP MLA of Maharashtra, resigned from the legislative assembly and the party membership too on Tuesday. Being a strong backer of the separate Vidharbha state, he has been a dissenting voice in the BJP for some time. Deshmukh is likely to join Congress and in all probability he will meet Rahul Gandhi in the evening, according to a report in news agency PTI.

Announcing his decision on Twitter, he has said that the BJP-led government is ‘anti-farmer’ and also accused the saffron party of promoting “divisive and vote bank politics”, as reported by the news agency. The leader is expected to formally resign on Wednesday by submitting his resignation to Haribhau Bagde, the speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly.

“The situation of farmers and the youth has worsened in the last four years but the government is indulged only in the politics of vote bank for winning elections and dividing the nation,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency. “As the BJP has been ignoring the people of India, I am tendering my resignation as an MLA and a member of the BJP,” Deshmukh added.

The son of former Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ranjeet Deshmukh, he has been critical of the state BJP and staked claim for separate state of Vidharbha since a long time. “The situation of farmers and the youth has worsened in the last four years but the government is indulged only in the politics of vote bank for winning elections and dividing the nation,” he said.

“As the BJP has been ignoring the people of India, I am tendering my resignation as an MLA and a member of the BJP,” Deshmukh added.

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