According to CM Uddhav Thackeray, Khadse is among the leaders who expanded the BJP’s base in parts of Maharashtra along with Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde.
Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse has quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, putting an end to speculations on the issue. Khadse will officially join NCP on 23 October.
Khadse, known as Natha Bhau, hails from Jalgaon where he held a press conference and attacked former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, saying: “I am quitting party not due to BJP as a party or its central leadership but due Devendra Fadnavis. He tried to destroy my political career. Even when the Opposition party had not demanded an inquiry against me, I was forced to resign as a minister in 2016 due to allegations over land corruption. This happened on the sole insistence of Fadnavis.”
Recalling his four-decade-long association with the BJP, the former Muktainagar MLA lashed out at the low level politics allegedly perpetuated by Fadnavis since 2016.
Fadnavis reacted to this and said, “He (Khadse) shouldn’t have resigned if he had any problem with me, he should have complained about the same to my higher-ups and on a proper forum. I have not made any false cases against him. When the right time will come, I will speak all truth.”
Meanwhile, the NCP feels that the induction of Khadse will give a boost to the party in north Maharashtra. “Eknath Khadse promoted the BJP in Maharashtra over years. I have been informed that BJP leader Eknath Khadse has resigned from his party. We’ve decided to give him an entry in NCP. He will be formally inducted into NCP at 2 pm on Friday,” Jayant Patil, state NCP chief and Maharashtra Minister said.
Congress leader and Maharashtra Minister Vijay Wattediwar said, “It’s not acche din for BJP. All is not well in BJP. There were deliberate attempts to sideline such a tall leader who belongs to OBC which is very wrong.”
Reacting to this, state CM Uddhav Thackeray said Khadse is among the leaders who expanded the BJP’s base in parts of the state along with late leaders Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde.
Popularly known as Natha Bhau, Khadse’s name popped up for CM face in 2014 but the party chose Fadnavis. Later Khadse was denied a BJP ticket to contest the Assembly election in Maharashtra in 2019. But, his daughter Rohini was fielded by the party as a BJP candidate in the Assembly elections. However, she lost.
Meanwhile, Khadse’s daughter-in-law Raksha had contested the Lok Sabha election 2019 on a BJP ticket and won. In the present circumstances, it is not clear whether Raksha will follow in her father-in-law’s footsteps and quit the party in the days to come.