Maha setback for BJP: Eknath Khase quits party, set to join NCP

Former Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse has resigned from the party and is set to join Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party.

According to reports, Khadse has sent his resignation to BJP's Maharashtra president Chandrakant Patil. 

"I am resigning from the primary membership of BJP due to personal reasons," Khadse wrote in his resignation letter. 

Khadse had been upset with his party since 2016 after he was made to resign over allegations of corruption and conflict of interest in a land deal near Pune in 2016. He was also denied a ticket in the last assembly elections.

Khadse is now reportedly all set to join Sharad Pawar's NCP.

Maharashtra NCP chief Patil was quoted by the Hindustan Times, "Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who has played a significant role in the growth of the BJP in Maharashtra, has decided to leave his party. He has informed me about his decision sometime back. This has paved the way for his induction in the NCP. Khadse will formally join the party on Friday afternoon."

• BJP
• Eknath Khase
• NCP
• assembly elections