Gondia, Feb 18 (PTI) Congress leader and former MLA Sahasram Korote has announced he would join Shiv Sena in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday.

Korote alleged he was denied the ticket to contest the assembly elections last year at the behest of the then state Congress president Nana Patole.

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Korote represented the Amgaon assembly constituency in Gondia district from 2019 to 2024.

Addressing reporters here on Tuesday, Korote said he decided to join Shiv Sena because he was inspired by development work done by Shinde when he was the chief minister.

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"As a CM, Shinde never discriminated against leaders from other parties," he said.

Korote further claimed that despite working sincerely, he was denied the ticket at the last minute and the party fielded a person who was not even a primary member.

A district Shiv Sena leader claimed two former legislators and an ex-MP may cross over to the party led by Shinde.

Former NCP MLA Manohar Chandrikapure recently joined the Shiv Sena with his son Sugat Chandrikapure.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)