India, July 16 -- Former Purandar MLA and nine-year Pune district Congress president, Sanjay Jagtap, will formally join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (16 July) at Saswad, in the presence of BJP state president Ravindra Chavan. The switchover is being seen as a significant political development ahead of local body elections in multiple cities of the state.

Jagtap, who resigned from Congress on July 12, cited "disorganisation and lack of discipline" in the party as one of the reasons for quitting, adding that he found BJP's structured operational model more effective. His father, late Chandukaka Jagtap, was a Congress MLC, and the family had a strong base in Saswad.

The latest move follows a recent wave of defections from Congres...