Former NDA leader Mahadev Jankar extends invitation to Rahul Gandhi

“He was extremely happy to receive the invitation and agreed to be there,” Jankar said. He added, “We are no longer part of the NDA. The BJP used me and then threw me away. I thank them for teaching me valuable lessons. Now, I think it is time for me to focus on growing my own party,” said Jankar.

The Dhangar community leader was part of social engineering designed by BJP leader late Gopinath Munde. After the demise of Munde, he remained close to Pankaja Munde and was made Animal Husbandry Minister during the first tenure of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Jankar, however, was neglected after the rise of another Dhangar community leader Gopichand Padalkar within the BJP. In a bid to keep his independent identity intact, Jankar chose to not merge his party anywhere and decided to walk out of the NDA, after his loss in the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Parbhani constituency.

Dhangar community has sizeable presence in Maharashtra’s Solapur, Sangli, Baramati, Parbhani, Satara Lok Sabha seats and can influence the results in more than 25-30 Assembly seats.

“I have yet not decided on political alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra. It will take time and some deliberations. But our goal is to grow politically and we will do whatever is needed,” Jankar said, adding that he thanked Gandhi for successfully raising the demand of caste census at national level and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accepting it.