Joined BJP but no announcement due to opposition from some state leaders, says Eknath Khadse

“I have joined the BJP in the presence of party president J P Nadda, senior leader Vinod Tawde and Union minister Rakshatai Khadse. Naddaji welcomed me to the party. However, the public announcement of it has not been made since some leaders in Maharashtra are opposing it,” said Khadse.

“I have decided to wait for some days. If the party is unwilling to announce my return publicly, I will go back to the NCP(SP) and help them in the Assembly elections,” the former minister added.

Khadse had quit BJP to join the united NCP led by Sharad Pawar two years ago owing to his differences with party leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan.

Mahajan and Khadse hail from Jalgaon district in north Maharashtra and the former is a close aide of Fadnavis.
After joining the NCP, he was made a member of legislative council and was even speculated to be contesting the recently concluded Lok Sabha election from Raver constituency.

However, the Delhi leadership of the BJP reportedly mended the differences and ensured that he does not contest. Instead, Khadse extended support to his daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse, who was the sitting Raver MP belonging to BJP.

After the formation of the NDA government at the Centre, Raksha Khadse was made a minister of state. Since then, Eknath Khadse’s official return to the party is being discussed.

According to sources, the state unit of the BJP is worried about the changed political dynamics at Jalgaon district and fear that it may face backlash if the leader returns. Also, Mahajan and Khadse have always been at odds against each other due to local politics.

State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that that he was unaware of Khadse’s statement and added that he hoped the former minister would extend support to BJP candidates in the upcoming Assembly polls.

“I don’t know about his statement, but I know that in the Lok Sabha polls, he extended all his support to our candidate Raksha Khadse and ensured her victory. We are sure that he will do the same in the Assembly elections and make BJP candidates win the polls,” said Bawankule.