The Congress, which made significant gains but fell short of the century mark in the Lok Sabha results announced on Tuesday, has now added an additional seat to its tally. Vishal Patil, an independent candidate and Congress rebel from Maharashtra, pledged his support to the party on Thursday.
The Congress secured 99 seats in the election. “With Vishal Patil’s support, the Congress’s strength will rise to 100 in Lok Sabha,” stated Congress MLA Vishwajit Kadam, who advocated for Patil within the party. Vishal Patil, the grandson of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil, won the Lok Sabha seat from Sangli, defeating BJP candidate Sanjaykaka Patil.
Patil contested as an independent after the Sangli seat was allocated to the Shiv Sena-UBT under the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) seat-sharing agreement. The Uddhav Thackeray Sena faction’s premature candidate announcement caused tension within the Maharashtra opposition alliance, despite Congress’s appeals for reconsideration.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed Patil’s support in a post on X: “Welcoming the support of elected MP from Sangli, Shri Vishal Patil (@patilvishalvp) to the Congress party.” Patil and Kadam met with Kharge and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, where Patil presented his letter of support.
Should the Lok Sabha secretariat approve, Vishal Patil will be designated as an associate MP of the Congress, officially bringing the party’s strength in the Lok Sabha to 100, according to party leaders. Additionally, Pappu Yadav, another independent candidate from Bihar’s Purnea, is anticipated to support Congress. Yadav, who merged his party with Congress before the elections, contested as an independent after the Purnea seat was allocated to the RJD in the Bihar opposition seat pact.
