MUMBAI, 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, its stronghold since Independence. Jayashree Patil, 62, was expelled by the Congress after she contested the 2024 assembly polls as an independent, against Congress' 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 sitting MP associated with the Congress. Jayashree Patil was being wooed by the NCP and was expected to join when party chief Ajit Pawar visited Sangli two weeks ago. The BJP leadership, however, assured her of a better offer. She is believed to have been appointed as an invitee member on the district planning committee and been assured that the ongoing inquiry against the Vasantdada Agricultural Cooperative Bank will be dropped. She has also been reportedly assured of a legislative council seat in future. At the induction function, Fadnavis said that Patil's entry was part of the strategy to strengthen the BJP before the local body polls. "We have a strong foothold in Sangli, and Jayashreetai's induction will help us further strengthen our base," he said. Fadnavis added that while the induction of leaders generally happened in the presence of the state president, he attended the function as Patil had "inherited the legacy of Vasantdada Patil's family". The BJP plan is to identify leaders with a large following who could help them win local body polls. Patil's induction comes a day after Sudhakar Badgujar, former city chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT) from Nashik, joined the BJP....