Asked MLAs who wanted to join BJP to wait: Raosaheb Danve

Mumbai: While MLAs from the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena, Union minister and former state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve on Sunday said four Opposition MLAs are willing to join the BJP, but he has asked them to wait.

“Today four MLAs from the opposition met me to join the BJP, I have told them to wait,” Mr Danve said while speaking at a felicitation programme in Jalna for people from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) on Sunday.

Addressing the gathering, the Union minister said he would propose to the Union government that a ‘caste-based census’ should be carried out along with the regular exercise in 2021. He said OBCs were demanding such a census for a long time.

Mr Danve claimed that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Maha-rashtra had worked hard for the development of OBC communities, including giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes in August 2018. The Union minister of state for consumer affairs, food and public distribution had recently said that 17 more Opposition MLAs are willing to join the BJP. However, he refused to disclose their names saying the decision about their induction into the party will be taken after considering various factors.

Mr Danve also tried to pacify the BJP workers by saying they should not be disappointed due to the new entrants in the party. “The new members should not affect your work. Regardless of the current situation, you should keep working devotedly. You will definitely get justice,” he had said.