BJP MP Nana Patole quits party and the Lok Sabha

Mumbai: BJP MP from Maharashtra Nana Patole, who has been critical of the state government and taken potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, resigned from the party and the Lok Sabha on Friday. Patole has been a member of other parties, including the Congress, in the past.

He had joined the BJP before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in which he defeated NCP heavyweight Praful Patel from Bhandara-Gondiya constituency. Patole had denounced the BJP over a host of issues, including farmers’ distress.

In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, he cited 14 issues related to agriculture, economy and unemployment as reasons for his resignation. He alleged that he had time and again raised the issues with the prime minister but they were ignored.