Though Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Eknath Khadse has said that he will be returning to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon, Maharashtra Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday that the party high command had not yet officially confirmed this to the Maharashtra BJP.
Mr. Fadnavis, whom Mr. Khadse sees as his bitter rival, said there was “no reason to oppose anyone joining the BJP” who had expressed their belief in PM Modi and his vision.
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“There is no reason to oppose anyone joining the BJP. However, the party has not officially conveyed it to us. He [Mr. Khadse] will be welcomed when the party informs us about it,” said Mr. Fadnavis in Nagpur.
On Sunday, Mr. Khadse officially confirmed that he would be returning to the BJP within the next fortnight.
Abuse of power
Mr. Khadse was the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly prior to the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly election. After the BJP came to power in the State that year, Mr. Khadse held several important portfolios, including the Revenue portfolio.
However, his name figured prominently in a case involving the purchase of a prime plot of land in Pune’s Bhosari area at throwaway prices. Mr. Khadse was alleged to have acquired the plot using illicit means by abusing his position as Revenue Minister in the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government (2014-19).
This prompted Mr. Khadse’s resignation from the Fadnavis-led cabinet in 2016. After being denied a ticket in the 2019 Assembly polls and the defeat of his daughter, Mr. Khadse became vocal about his disenchantment with the BJP, especially accusing Mr. Fadnavis of plotting his downfall.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan, yet another of Mr. Khadse’s bitter political foes when he was in the BJP, said he was “too small a party worker” to comment on Mr. Khadse’s possible ‘homecoming.’
“Mr. Khadse is a tall leader… He himself has spoken of his connection with [the BJP high command] in Delhi. He has said that his re-entry into the BJP will take place in Delhi, and not in Maharashtra. So, I am too small a party worker to comment on such matters,” quipped Mr. Mahajan.
