Khadse takes swipe at ‘changing political culture’ as Fadnavis skips his 75th birthday celebrations

A large number of Khadse’s supporters and political associates, both former and current, were present at Sunday’s gathering, underlining his enduring political influence in Jalgaon

Mumbai: Senior NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse on Sunday celebrated his 75th birthday in Muktainagar in Jalgaon district with a grand gathering, featuring top political leaders from across party lines. But chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, with whom Khadse has had long-standing political differences and whom he had invited for his birthday, skipped the event, prompting the veteran leader to take a swipe at the “changing political culture”.

Eknath Khadse worked alongside Devendra Fadnavis in the BJP before shifting to the NCP in 2020. (HT Archive)

“Today, I feel pain when I compare the politics of the present with the politics of the past,” Khadse, who spent most of his political career in the BJP before shifting to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP in 2020, told the gathering.

“Despite being in the Opposition, leaders from the ruling parties always helped me. Until 2014, there was a cordial political environment where leaders from the Opposition and ruling parties would meet, greet each other and even criticise one another. But personal differences were never at the level we see today. Personal relationships were always maintained,” he remarked.

Khadse also highlighted his contribution to the development of Jalgaon during his tenure as an MLA and minister, when he initiated several development projects alongside making efforts to ensure the region’s social fabric was not disturbed.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who was among prominent leaders present at the gathering, acknowledged Khadse’s contribution to the BJP’s growth in the state.

“Once upon a time, the BJP’s political presence in Maharashtra was limited. Among those who worked tirelessly to establish the party at the grassroots level were Pramod Mahajan and Eknath Khadse,” Pawar said.

Khadse was one of the BJP’s most prominent leaders in north Maharashtra and wielded considerable influence in the region, particularly among the numerically significant Leva Patil community, which is categorised as Other Backward Classes (OBC).

After the 2014 assembly poll, Khadse was named a senior minister in the Fadnavis-led BJP government. But he resigned from the post in 2016 amid allegations of misuse of office in connection with a land deal in Bhosari, Pune. In the subsequent assembly poll in 2019, he was denied a BJP ticket.

In October 2020, the veteran leader quit the BJP and joined the undivided NCP in the presence of Sharad Pawar. At the time, he accused Fadnavis, then Deputy Chief Minister, of attempting to end his political career.

A large number of Khadse’s supporters and political associates, both former and current, were present at Sunday’s gathering, underlining his enduring political influence in Jalgaon.

Among those present were union ministers Ramdas Athawale and Raksha Khadse, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, NCP (SP) Maharashtra chief Shashikant Shinde, NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil, Peasants and Workers Party leader Jayant Patil and RSP leader Mahadev Jankar.

Former ministers Rajesh Tope, Harshwardhan Patil, Rajendra Shingne and Anil Deshmukh, as well as NCP (SP) MP Bhaskar Bhagare, were also present.