The Congress party has suffered a significant political setback in Maharashtra ahead of the upcoming civic body elections, as Pradnya Satav, widow of late Congress leader Rajiv Satav, resigned from the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) and formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday.

Pradnya Satav joined the BJP in the presence of Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, marking a high-profile defection just weeks before elections to 29 municipal corporations, scheduled for January 15, with counting on January 16.

Satav, who hails from Hingoli district in the Marathwada region, entered politics after the death of her husband Rajiv Satav, a senior Congress leader and close confidant of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Following his demise, she served as vice president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) and was considered an important face of the party in the region.

She was first elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 2021 and was re-nominated in July 2024, with her term originally set to run until 2030. On Thursday, she submitted her resignation to the legislature secretariat after speaking to Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde, hours before switching parties.

A day earlier, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal had said that Pradnya Satav was incommunicado, fuelling speculation about her political future. Her sudden exit has now confirmed fears within the party of internal erosion ahead of crucial local body polls.

Reacting strongly to the development, Congress spokesperson Pooja Tripathi expressed disappointment in a post on X, stating that the decision went against the legacy and values upheld by Rajiv Satav. She said that while party-hopping may bring power, it erodes trust built over years of commitment and ideology.

Besides Pradnya Satav, former Solapur MLA Dilip Mane also joined the BJP, further strengthening the saffron party’s position ahead of the municipal elections.

The twin defections are being seen as a boost for the BJP and a warning sign for the Congress, which is already facing organisational challenges in Maharashtra. With civic polls just weeks away, Pradnya Satav’s move could influence local political equations, especially in Marathwada, a region where Congress traditionally held sway.

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