Pune: Former BJP MP Nana Patole from Bhandara-Gondia constituency, who had openly rebelled against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, has been appointed as the National President of the Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress, the farmer’s wing of the Congress, which was lying defunct for years. Reports say that the appointment was made on Friday in order to jumpstart the revival of the outfit on orders of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

Nana Patole, who himself belongs to the farming community, was vocal about the issues of the farmers and agriculture sector. In early 2017, the MP had started to become vocally critical of the policies implemented by the Union government, many of which, Patole opposed for being anti-farmer. By the end of the year, a disgruntled Patole had resigned from his membership of the BJP and his Lok Sabha seat as well, after which in January this year, he joined the Congress party.

Patole has since been known for his vocal opposition to the BJP government. When the bypolls to replace him in his seat of Bhandara-Gondia took place, Patole played a major role in getting the Congress-NCP joint candidate Madhukar Kukde elected with a huge margin. As an attempt to widen its appeal and to revive its dormant organisation, Congress President Gandhi is said to have made the move of promoting Patole.