Mumbai:

NCP (SP) MLC Eknath Khadse expressed gratitude to party president Sharad Pawar for helping him in his difficult situation and said he will join his parent organization the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next 15 days.

In 2016, veteran leader Khadse had to resign as a minister in the former Devendra Fadnavis cabinet due to the land deal case.

Once one of the top leaders of the BJP in Maharashtra, Mr Khadse was relegated to the political wilderness for nearly five years until Sharad Pawar ended his relationship with the BJP in 2020 (NCP) for 40 years of contact to vindicate him. Bharatiya Janata Party.

“I have decided to return to the BJP because that is my home. I have served the party for four decades. I am grateful to Sharad Pawar who helped me during times of crisis,” Khaders told reporters on Sunday. Expressing my gratitude.” “I have spoken to leaders like BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I will join the party in New Delhi in the next 15 days. Once I get the call, I will visit Delhi, “He said.

Last year, the NCP split after Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government, with Mr Khadse choosing to side with Sharad Pawar .

On Sunday, state minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Girish Mahajan called his former colleague Mr. Khadse a “went out light”.

“He is like a light that went out, not even a gram of panchayat is in his hands. He used to control a bank but the board of directors also changed and the new board members did not listen to him. Why are his decisions so important? “?” ” Mr. Mahajan told reporters.

Mahajan, Khadse’s main rival in Jalgaon district, said his wife and daughter had lost elections in the past.

Mr Khadse, who served as leader of opposition in the state assembly from 2009 to 2014, was a contender for the chief ministership when the BJP won over 120 seats in the 2014 assembly elections. However, he was defeated by Devendra Fadnavis for the top post.

His joining the BJP is expected to revive the party’s strength in the northern Maharashtra region.

Recently, Unmesh Patil, the sitting BJP MP from Jalgaon, switched to Shiv Sena (UBT) after being denied a ticket. The party fielded Smita Wagh from Jalgaon.

Mr Khadse’s daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse, a sitting BJP MP from Raver, is seeking a third term in the Lok Sabha in the upcoming elections.

His daughter Rohini Khadse is an NCP member (Sharadchandra Pawar).

In 2019, she contested the assembly elections from Muktai Nagar on a ticket from the BJP but was defeated by independent candidate Chandrakant Nimba Patil.

Eknath Kardese later blamed the defeat on the BJP leaders.

Rohini Khadse said in a post on X on Sunday that she will not follow her father in the BJP and will stay with the SP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)