Lok sabha elections 2023: Devendra Fadnavis never opposed Eknath Khadse: Maharashtra BJP chief Bawankule

Chandrashekhar Bawankule. File Pic

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday said state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis never opposed veteran leader Eknath Khadse, who is set to return to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, reported the PTI.

More than three years after he ended his 40-year-old association with the BJP following differences with state leadership and crossed over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (undivided), Eknath Khadse on Saturday said that he will join BJP next week in New Delhi, as per the PTI.

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Eknath Khadse had to resign in 2016 as a minister of the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis cabinet owing to a land deal case.

Once one of the tallest leaders of the BJP in Maharashtra, Eknath Khadse was relegated to the political wilderness for almost five years before Sharad Pawar rehabilitated him in NCP (undivided) in 2020.

Notably, Eknath Khadse had blamed Devendra Fadnavis and his confidant Girish Mahajan for harming his political career.

Eknath Khadse's entry into the BJP is expected to revive the party's strength in north Maharashtra region.

When asked if Devendra Fadnavis has any objection to Eknath Khadse's return to the BJP, Chandrashekhar Bawankule told reporters in Maharashtra's Pune, "Devendra Fadnavis never opposed Eknath Khadse. In fact, Devendra Fadnavis treated him with utmost respect when he was with the BJP and I am a witness to it."

"There is a central as well as state committee of our party which looks after the new joinings. Both the committees will take a decision on Eknath Khadse joining the BJP," he said, according to the PTI.

Devendra Fadnavis always extended full cooperation to Eknath Khadse when he was the cabinet minister under him, the BJP leader said, adding that personal relations with Eknath Khadse were not damaged even when he had left the party, the news agency reported on Sunday.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who took part in the BJP's 'Ghar Chalo' campaign here ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024, said the party never refused anyone from joining it.

"A number of leaders including Ashok Chavan, Archana Patil, among others joined us. Our dupatta (the party scarf) is ready for those who want to join our party," the BJP leader said, the news agency reported.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan quit the Congress in February this year and joined the BJP.

Archana Patil, the daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader and former Union home minister Shivraj Patil, also joined the BJP recently.

Eknath Khadse's daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse is the sitting BJP MP from Raver who is seeking a third term to the Lok Sabha in the upcoming elections.
His daughter Rohini Khadse is with the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Asked about Rohini Khadse's announcement of staying with the NCP (SP) as its state women's unit head, Bawankule said, "The decision on Eknath Khadse's induction into the BJP will be taken by the state and national level committees. However, no induction will take place in isolation. There has to be a proper and well-thought out decision," as per the PTI.

The party has opened its doors for all the people who wish to join the BJP, he said.

"We do not discriminate among people joining the BJP and those switching from other political backgrounds such as the Congress," he said, the news agency reported.

To a query on the seat-sharing not finalised among the ruling BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, "Most of the discussions have reached a conclusion level. Once we meet, all the decisions will be taken in just half-an-hour. We have reached some decisions unanimously."

(with PTI inputs)