Mumbai, Oct 20 (Reporter) In a setback to the Congress party in run-up to Maharashtra Assembly election due next month, its senior tribal leader, Bharat Manikrao Gavit, on Sunday joined NCP-AP faction in presence of party's national president Ajit Pawar and state president Sunil Tatkare at the party office here. His father, late Manikrao Gavit, a prominent Congress leader, was an influential leader in North Maharashtra. Gavit served as the Union Minister of State for Home in the Manmohan Singh government in 2004 and Minister of State for Social justice in 2013. As Bharat Gavit wields a significant influence in the tribal pocket of Nandurbar region, his joining will boost the party’s tribal base in the state ahead of the assembly elections. Currently, he serves as the chairman of the Adivasi Cooperative Sugar Factory, Dokare Navapur, as well as is a member and former president of the Nandurbar Zilla Parishad and is serving as president of Ladki Bahin Yojana Navpaur Vidhan Sabha Kshetra Samiti...////...