Saffron Sulk

After rebel MP Nana Patole quit the BJP last month, the buzz is that some other leaders in Maharashtra might follow suit

- Dnyanesh Jathar

Nana Patole is an angry man. In meeting after meeting, even non-political ones, the former BJP MP from Maharashtra criticises the party, takes potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and vows to bring down the Central and state governments.

His anger will soon turn into action, when he launches a Paschataap Yatra (journey of repentance) from Sindkhed Raja in Buldhana district to Sakoli in Bhandara district—covering more than 800 kilometres—to highlight the severe plight of OBCs and farmers in Maharashtra. “I will first cover Vidarbha, then launch similar yatras in Marathwada and other regions. For this, I am meeting people from all over the state,” he said.

Till recently, Patole was MP from Bhandara-Gondiya constituency in Maharashtra. He had trounced Nationalist Congress Party heavyweight Praful Patel by nearly 1.5 lakh votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, on December 8, Patole resigned from the party and from Parliament, citing 14 reasons, including the governments’ apathy towards farmers. “Modi showed Hitler-like tendencies when I presented issues concerning other backward communities and farmers at a meeting. I was upset. That was the beginning,” he told THE WEEK.