Former working president of Maharashtra Congress and ex-MLA Basavraj Patil has joined ruling BJP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Mr Patil had resigned from the Congress on Monday. Mr Patil, a Lingayat leader from Marathwada, is likely to contest from Dharashiv Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Patil, who hails from Latur district in Marathwada, has represented Ausa assembly constituency in 2009 and 2014. He lost to BJP's Abhimanyu Pawar in 2019. Since then despite being made the party's working president, Mr Patil was inactive from the party functioning. In the last two months, senior Congress leaders Milind Deora, Baba Siddique and Ashok Chavan have quit the party to join the ruling alliance.<br />''<br />''<br />''<br />