In politics, they say, there are no permanent friends or enemies and this saying is best defined by harshavardhan patil, the former minister who switched parties on the eve of the 2019 elections and now, weeks before the state goes to the polls on November 20. He has travelled across parties, starting out as an independent candidate in 1995 from his home turf Indapur, was a minister for water conservation in the Shiv Sena-BJP government between 1995 and 1999 and continued his winning spree as an independent until 2004. He joined the Congress to contest the 2009 polls as the party’s candidate and held the cabinet portfolios for parliamentary affairs and the all-important cooperative department until the Congress-NCP lost power in 2014. But with his warm and affable nature, he’s known to have friends and cordial relations across parties.
Unable to secure a nomination in the 2019 elections from the Congress which was then in alliance with the undivided NCP, Patil accused the NCP of betraying him and switched to the BJP, claiming to have faith in Narendra Modi’s vision. While he contested the 2019 polls as a BJP candidate, he lost to the NCP’s Dattatrey Bharne. He went into political wilderness since then, unable to secure a nomination to the upper house of the Maharashtra legislature. In early 2024, Patil was elected as the president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories and has been working on resolving the issues of the sugar industry. With a good hold over his home turf, a deep understanding of the cooperative sector and a close network in the constituency, Patil had an eye on contesting the 2024 polls. With the new alliance arrangement, the BJP had to concede the seat to Ajit Pawar, prompting Patil to quickly switch over to the party, the NCP (SP), that he had accused of betrayal only five years ago. But his reach and influence over the cooperatives in Indapur could prove to be an asset to any party, a reason he was warmly welcomed into the fold despite opposite from the local rank and file of the NCP (SP).
Patil’s daughter Ankita is seen as his political heir. Director of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, she entered politics and is a member of the Zilla Parishad in Pune. Days before her father quit the BJP, Ankita resigned from the party. She is married to Bal Thackeray’s older grandson Nihar.
His departure never ruffles feathers for too long given his friendly personality. He is only known to have an uneasy rapport with Ajit Pawar while they competed for political one upmanship of Indapur, which falls within the Baramati Parliamentary constituency.
It is said that during these Lok Sabha elections, Patil offered his tacit support to Supriya Sule while the incumbent legislator moved with Ajit Pawar. Patil has been rewarded for his support with a nomination to the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
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