Co-president of the União Brasil-PP federation in São Paulo, Milton Leite, imprisoned since September, is expected to lose command of the party

Imprisoned since September 18, the co-president of the União Brasil-PP federation in São Paulo, Milton Leite, accumulated setbacks in this year's elections and is expected to lose command of the group in the coming weeks.

Former councilor of São Paulo, he is the target of an investigation that targets a scheme linking public transport companies in the city to the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital).

An ally of Antônio de Rueda, national president of União Brasil, Leite also sees his future threatened in the party.

Of the seven candidates he sponsored, only his son Milton Leite Filho (União) was elected federal deputy, with 71,631 votes. The other son, Alexandre Leite, had 72,515 votes, but remained as a substitute in the dispute for a place in the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (Alesp).

Leite Filho's election was also helped by the good performance of PP candidates, such as Sergeant Nantes and Maurício Neves. In the federation, the PP gained even more strength with the election of Guilherme Derrite to the Senate.

Leite and Neves, who presides over the PP in São Paulo, had already competed for command of the federation. The solution was to divide the presidency between the two. As the statute requires the agreement of both co-presidents, Leite's arrest, in practice, paralyzes the decisions of the party arrangement. The tendency is for him to be replaced in the coming weeks.

In a WhatsApp group with politicians from the federation, a member defined Leite's situation as that of someone run over by a tractor that still reversed to check the victim's condition.

In addition to Alexandre, five other candidates sponsored by Leite who competed for a place in the Chamber of Deputies were not elected: Pastora Sandra Alves (63,745 votes), Rubinho Nunes (41,883), Adrilles Jorge (26,694), Delegado da Cunha (26,497) and Baianinho de Mauá (7,452).