After exiting BJP, former Union minister Jaisingrao Gaikwad Patil joins NCP

Former Union minister Jaisingrao

Gaikwad Patil on Tuesday joined the NCP in the presence of its president Sharad Pawar at the party's office here a few days after he quit the BJP.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and NCP ministers such as Jayant Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Dhananjay Munde, Nawab Malik were present on the occasion.

"The BJP does not appreciate the work of its men. It discourages good workers. I decided to not work in the party where I felt suffocated. Hence, breathing freely now after joining the NCP," Patil said in a statement.

He added he will now work to ensure "record breaking" votes for Satish Chavan, the NCP candidate for the biennial election to the state legislative council's graduates' constituency from Aurangabad division.

NCP chief Pawar said a "good colleague" had joined the NCP in the form of Gaikwad Patil, who "handled power humbly and was part of the pain of the common people".