New Delhi, Dec. 18 -- In a setback to Congress ahead of civic body polls in Maharashtra, Pradnya Satav on Thursday joined the BJP hours after submitting her resignation from the Upper House of the Maharashtra legislature as Member of the Legislative Council (MLC).

Pradnya Satav joined the saffron party in the presence of Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

Satav, the wife of late Rajiv Satav, a Congressman and close confidant of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. She hails from Hingoli district in the state's Marathwada region.

On Wednesday, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal had said Pradnya Satav has been incommunicado.

After her husband's death, Satav served...