NCP leader Eknath Khadse announces return to BJP; to file nomination for LS poll
Ahead of the Lok Sabha poll, senior leader of the NCP’s Sharad Pawar faction Eknath Khadse confirmed on Saturday that he is returning to the BJP.
“Yes, I am joining BJP. I am coming back home. I will file my nomination for the election and complete all formalities within 810 days. I do not want to reveal much at this stage,” Mr. Khadse told The Hindu.
Sources said it was the BJP’s central leadership that had reached out to Mr. Khadse and not its leaders in Maharashtra. Mr. Khadse’s ‘ghar wapsi’ is considered crucial for the BJP as it wants to secure its base in north Maharashtra.
Mr. Khadse, who spent 40 years of his political career with the Sangh Parivar, was one of the founding leaders of the BJP. He left the party in October 2020 after accusing Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan of trying to tarnish his reputation in north Maharashtra. He then joined the NCP.
The Sharad Pawarled party then offered Mr. Khadse membership in the
Legislative Council and appointed his daughter, Rohini Khadse, as the State chief of the party’s women’s wing. Just when the NCP faction was hoping to expand its base in north Maharashtra with the help of Mr. Khadse in 2021, he got stuck entangled in a 2016 land deal case in Pune.
The Enforcement Directorate then arrested Mr. Khadse’s soninlaw, Girish Chaudhari, in the case.
“We are still discussing what my daughter Rohini’s political stance will be now. We will respect and accept whatever she decides. Both my daughter and daughterinlaw, Raksha Khadse, have my undivided support,” Mr. Khadse said.