Maharashtra horizon cloudy, BJP set to bring back senior leader who left blaming Devendra Fadnavis

Eknath Khadse, a senior leader of the NCP Sharad Pawar faction, is all set to return to his parent party BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, as the BJP struggles to tackle in-house challenges in its stronghold of North Maharashtra.

After 40 years in the Sangh Parivar — he started with the Jan Sangh and was among the founder leaders of the BJP — Khadse had quit the party in October 2020 and joined the then united NCP. He is currently an MLC of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Asked about whether he was moving back to the BJP, Khadse was non-committal. “I will make an appropriate decision after consulting everybody. There are some aspects which need to be considered.”

This was apparently a hint at the fact that the state BJP leadership, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is unlikely to be amenable to Khadse’s return. Highly placed sources in the BJP admitted that it was the central leadership that reached out to Khadse, and was keen that the switch happens before the Lok Sabha polls, where the party is facing a tough challenge.

Khadse had blamed Fadnavis and Cabinet minister Girish Mahajan at the time he left the BJP, accusing the two of trying to sabotage his stature in North Maharashtra. A source said that this, however, won’t come in the way of Khadse’s return now. “When it comes to organisation and polls, everybody will be made to set aside past grievances and work together.”

A highly respected leader of North Maharashtra, Khadse is a Leva Patil, who are OBCs – the group the BJP is trying to placate following its decision to extend reservation to the Marathas.

Sources said the BJP leadership hopes Khadse’s return will help the party quell discontent in key constituencies like Jalgaon (his home base) and