Nagpur: Animal husbandry minister Mahadev Jankar’s resignation as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA over not being allowed to contest the Council election as a Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) candidate supported by the BJP could result in his disqualification.

The chairman of the Legislative Council Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar on Friday declared in the house that Mr Jankar had tendered his resignation as BJP MLA on Thursday night, which had been accepted by him. Asked about the resignation, revenue minister Chandrakant Patil clarified that Mr Jankar had resigned as BJP MLA before filing his nomination in the afternoon as RSP member.

This has now become a controversial issue as BJP president Amit Shah may not allow Mr Jankar to contest as a RSP candidate supported by the BJP. Reason being that it is against the BJP’s policy. Even Narayan Rane was compelled by the party to file his nomination as a BJP candidate and not as a candidate of his own party Maharashtra Swabhimaan Paksh (MSP) supported by the BJP. In the event Mr Shah does not allow Mr Jankar to contest as a BJP-supported RSP candidate, Mr Jankar could withdraw his candidature on Monday. Meanwhile, Mr Jankar will remain a minister for six months and may contest a Lok Sabha seat or an Assembly seat as a NDA alliance partner.

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