Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS) Congress party on Thursday received yet another jolt after the sitting legislator Jayashree Jadhav from Kolhapur North joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of chief leader and chief minister Eknath Shinde.

She was appointed as the deputy leader and Kolhapur district women wing’s chief after being denied renomination by the Congress party.

Jayashree Jadhav’s departure is also a setback to Congress legislator and former minister Satej Patil who had played a major role in her election.

Jadhav was elected in the by-election from Kolhapur North constituency which took place in 2022 after the sad demise of her husband and sitting Congress legislator from there.

In the 2024 elections, the Congress has fielded Madhurimaraje Chhatrapati who is pitted against Shiv Sena nominee Rajesh Kshirsagar who had represented the constituency in 2009 and 2014.

Kshirsagar is currently the vice chairman of MITRA which is a state body established on the lines of NITI Aayog.

Jadhav’s move comes hours after veteran Mumbai Congress leader Ravi Raja on Thursday joined BJP and was appointed Vice President of the city unit.

The Chief Minister said that Shiv Sena will further consolidate its position following the induction of Jayashree Jadhav in the party.

“Despite sitting legislator, she expressed her desire to join Shiv Sena. She will make efforts to reach out to the women from Kolhapur district a slew of welfare and development schemes such as Ladki Bahin Yojana, Lakhpati Didi, Drone Didi launched by the state government,” he added.

In her speech, Jayashree Jadhav said: “We were originally Shiv Sainiks but my husband later joined the Congress party. Although I worked for the constituency for the last two years as a legislator, the Congress denied the renomination and therefore I took a decision to join Shiv Sena. I will strive to increase Shiv Sena’s presence in Kolhapur district.”

Jayashree Jadhav’s son Satyajit Jadhav also joined Shiv Sena. The Chief Minister assured him to assign him to look into the issues faced by the industry which need to be resolved at the state government level.