Big Setback for Congress: Amravati MLA Sulbha Khodke Joins Ajit Pawar's NCP, Declared Candidate from Amravati

Just ahead of the assembly elections, Congress has been dealt a major blow as Amravati MLA Sulbha Khodke joined Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In a key political development, Khodke, along with her supporters, officially joined the NCP in the presence of Ajit Pawar, the national president of the NCP, state president Sunil Tatkare, and the party’s working president at a ceremony held in Mumbai.

The NCP has declared Sulbha Khodke as its official candidate from the Amravati assembly constituency for the coming elections. Her defection for the Congress party has been seen as a big blow for the party as it becomes the third MLA in recent times to leave the party.

Two other Congress MLAs had left the party before Khodke's departure. Recently the MLA from Degloor, Jitesh Antapurkar joined the BJP, while MLA from Igatpuri, Hiranman Khoskar, joined the NCP.

Besides Sulbha Khodke, several other prominent local leaders have also joined NCP. They include Badnera councillor Ayub Bhai, former mayor Zafar Sheikh Jabbar, party official Advocate Shoaib Khan and secretary Asif Bhai. The Amravati region, which is in the foothold of the NCP, gets some momentum as another wave of defections is added to it.

Khodke’s move further complicates the political situation in Maharashtra, ahead of a highly fought poll. Along with that, Congress is in an uphill battle now, fighting its own internal strife in the midst of fighting to keep influence.