NCP senior leader Kardile joins BJP

MUMBAI: In a season of poll-related floor-crossing, the Maharashtra BJP scored its first goal on rival NCP on Monday when former minister Shivajirao Kardile left the Sharad Pawar camp and joined the BJP.

Last week, three BJP legislators had crossed over to the NCP. Monday���s defection was an attempt to get even at the NCP. Gopinath Munde told reporters that two more senior NCP leaders were on their way to join the BJP in a week or so. Mr Munde also announced that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance would field Mr Kardile from the Rahuri constituency in Ahmednagar district.

"This is our tit for tat. The NCP took away three of our legislators, we will return the favour by taking three senior leaders from the NCP," Mr Munde said. Mr Kardile, who contested the last Lok Sabha poll on the NCP ticket from Ahmednagar constituency and lost out to BJP���s Dilip Gandhi, has been a veteran in the co-operative movement.

In this context, Mr Kardile���s entry is a big plus for the BJP as he heads the Ahmednagar district central co-operative bank, the largest DCC bank in Maharashtra, and a lender to 14 formidable sugar co-operatives in the district.