Apoorva, Prashant Hiray move out of BJP, rejoin NCP

MUMBAI: In a setback to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its leader and former legislator Apoorva Hiray and former minister Prashant Hiray rejoined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday. They were welcomed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who also said their induction will strengthen the party in Nashik. Hiray said they had taken this step because BJP’S policy is only to “sell dreams and do nothing for the people.”

Apoorva lost the recently held legislative council elections as an independent candidate. The BJP had pitted Aniket Patil against Apoorva in the polls. Kishore Darade, an independent candidate backed by Shiv Sena, won the election by defeating both of them. In 2012, Apoorva had won the legislative council election from Nashik teachers’ constituency as an independent candidate. His father, Prashant Hiray, was a minister from NCP during the Congress-ncp regime and both had joined the BJP in 2014.

Apoorva said they had joined BJP as the party had promised development before elections. “Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had once said that now he is going to adopt Nashik district but later we found out they (BJP) only sell dreams and do nothing,” Apoorva said. Accusing BJP of using him and his father for local body elections, Apoorva said they had been sidelined in the party.

Prashant Hiray alleged the BJP government has not fulfilled any of its promises in the past

four years. “The country is right now facing a very unfortunate situation on all fronts. This needs to be changed by changing the regime,” Prashant said.

BJP refuted all the charges levelled by the Hiray family. State BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said the duo had not been active in the party for many years. “It is completely baseless that they were sidelined in the party. In fact, they were not active in the party in the last few years,” Bhandari said.