Eknath Khadse who joins NCP today, claims 10 more Maharashtra MLAs in touch with him
Khadse left the BJP after nearly 40 years pinning the blame on the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
FollowMumbai: A day after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Khadse, who is set to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said 10 BJP MLAs were in touch with him, but they may not quit the party now.
He will be joining the NCP today in presence of party chief Sharad Pawar, other senior leaders and ministers in Mumbai.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said that they have organised a function on Friday afternoon where he will join the party in the presence of Pawar.
Talking to the media on Thursday Khadse had said that more than dozen-odd former BJP legislators, several district leaders, cooperative bank directors, party activists and supporters will accompany him when he joins the NCP on Friday afternoon.
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He had also claimed that many sitting MLAs from the saffron party are in touch with him but could not come out in the open due to the anti-defection laws.
He also claimed the NCP had offered him candidature for the Assembly polls, after the BJP denied him an election ticket last year, even as he stepped up attack on former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying the BJP’s formula to take backward classes together was thrown away, after Fadnavis took over the party’s affairs in the state.
Khadse a prominent leader of the BJP from north Maharashtra, enjoys a significant hold in the region. He comes from Leva Patil, one of the OBC communities that has a sizable population in north Maharashtra.
With Khadse’s induction, NCP leaders are hoping the party would get stronger in the region. Sitting BJP MLA Sanjay Savkare (Bhusawal) is considered close to him.
