Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Gopichand Padalkar, who recently courted controversy after he called NCP chief Sharad Pawar “coronavirus”, was on Monday appointed as the party’s spokesperson for Western Maharashtra, which is considered NCP’s bastion.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil on Monday appointed 10 party spokespersons including Padalkar. “Padalkar and Dhananjay Mahadik will be the party’s spokespersons in Western Maharashtra region. Keshav Upadhye will continue to be the party’s chief spokesperson in Maharashtra,” a party official said.

Interestingly, only two months ago, the BJP had distanced itself from Padalkar’s statement in which he termed the NCP chief as “coronavirus that has infected Maharashtra”. The statement has evoked strong reactions from the ruling alliance. The local NCP activists had filed the FIR against Padalkar under Section 505-2 (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Baramati police station.

However, Padalkar will now be the party’s spokesperson in the region where Mr Pawar is very influential. The unexpected success of the NCP in the 2019 state Assembly elections in the region had changed the entire equation of state politics and as a result the BJP had to sit in the opposition.

Padalkar was also fielded by the BJP against Ajit Pawar in Baramati Assembly seat, where he lost by the margin of 1.65 lakh votes — the biggest margin of victory in the entire state. Subsequently, he was elected to the Legislative council on the BJP’s ticket.