WINNING OVER THE WEST
GUJARAT
HARDIK PATEL
From: Congress to BJP in June 2022
USP: Influential Patidar leader and former working president of PCC
ASHVIN KOTWAL From: Congress to BJP in May 2022
USP: An influential tribal leader with considerable influence among Adivasis in Sabarkantha district
JAWAHAR CHAVDA From: Congress to BJP in March 2019
USP: Won as Congressman in 2017, quit to join BJP in 2019 and was immediately made tourism minister in Vijay Rupani cabinet
RAGHAVJI PATEL From: Congress to BJP in September 2019
USP: A four-term Congress MLA, he is an influential Patidar leader from Kutch. He is now the state minister for agriculture
BRIJESH MERJA
From: Congress to BJP in June 2019
USP: Influential in the Morbi area, he is now minister of state for labour and employment
GOA
VISHWAJIT RANE
From: Congress to BJP in March 2017
USP: Son of former Goa CM and Congress veteran Pratapsingh Rane, he resigned from the Congress after the 2017 Goa polls to join the BJP. Has been a minister in the BJP government since. After the 2022 polls, his wife Deviya Rane became a legislator as well
ATANASIO MONSERRATE From: Congress to BJP in 2019 USP: Engineered a revolt in the Congress along with nine other legislators, joined BJP along with wife Jennifer. She was made revenue minister. Atanasio is now a minister for revenue in the Pramod Sawant cabinet
SUBHASH SHIRODKAR From: Congress to BJP in October 2018
USP: A powerful Bhandari community member, he is cooperatives minister in Pramod Sawant’s cabinet
MAHARASHTRA
NARAYAN RANE From: Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha to BJP in October 2020 USP: Has considerable influence in the Konkan region and is minister for MSME in PM Modi’s government. A former CM of the state, Rane was earlier with the Shiv Sena and then with the Congress
RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE-PATIL
From: Congress to BJP in September 2019
USP: A five-time Congress MLA, he was leader of the opposition during Devendra Fadnavis’ tenure. His father Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was an eight-term Congress MP.
BHARATI PAWAR From: NCP to BJP in March 2019
USP: A senior leader of the NCP, she switched over to the BJP before 2019 polls. Has since been made a Union minister
RAHUL NARWEKAR From: NCP to BJP in September 2019 USP: Comes from an influential political family. He unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election on an NCP ticket from Maval. He was the party’s face in the media. Currently speaker of the state assembly
UDAYANRAJE BHOSALE From: NCP to BJP in September 2019
USP: A descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Bhosale was a two-term NCP MP. Before that, he was a two-term MLA on the BJP’s ticket. Currently, he is a Rajya Sabha MP
KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL From: NCP to BJP in February 2014 USP: BJP’s face in Thane, he represents communally sensitive Bhiwandi. He is currently Union minister of state for Panchayati Raj