India, June 19 -- The Mahayuti's spree of poaching strong local leaders from other parties continues apace. Its latest catch is former chief minister Vasantdada Patil's granddaughter-in-law Jayashree Patil, who joined the BJP on Wednesday in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. This is seen as a loss for the Congress in Sangli, a district that has been its stronghold since Independence.

Jayashree Patil (62) contested the 2024 assembly elections as an independent, and was expelled by the Congress after she filed her candidature against Congress candidate Prithviraj Patil. Vice-president of the Sangli District Cooperative Bank, she is the wife of former cabinet minister Madan Patil and sister-in-law of Vishal Patil, the sittin...