Eknath Khadse out, Maharashtra BJP to see more protests?

The exit of Eknath Khadse, 68, – a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran and a prominent other backward class (OBC) face in Maharashtra politics for four decades

The exit of Eknath Khadse, 68, – a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran and a prominent other backward class (OBC) face in Maharashtra politics for four decades – squarely blaming Devendra Fadnavis, who calls the shots in the state BJP, is unlikely to pose any trouble for the former chief minister, but could lead to murmurs of protests from other camps against him.

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Khadse, who joined the BJP in the 1980s, became the sarpanch of Kothadi village in 1987. He was one of the key leaders in MADHAV (which stoods for ‘M’ali, ‘Dha’ngar and ‘V’anjari communities) formula under which party leader Vasantrao Bhagwat brought many OBC leaders to the party fold. Khadse belongs to the Leva Patil community which falls under OBC and has a sizable population in north Maharashtra. He was elected as an MLA from Muktainagar for six consecutive terms since 1990.

Khadse, in a press conference announcing his switch to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday, said barring Fadnavis, he had no grievance against any party leader from the state or on national level. He said Fadnavis targeted him to the point that he was compelled to take the decision of quitting the party. He alleged that during the BJP rule in the state, Fadnavis tried to finish him politically by lodging false cases such as molestation against him using the government machinery.

Minutes after his exit, senior BJP leader and former finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the party needed to introspect. “It is shocking, unexpected and distressing development. Khadse is an aggressive and magnanimous politician and his discontent could have been resolved through dialogue. I still feel he should not have taken this step,” he said.

Mungantiwar’s statement assumes significance as he belongs to the Nitin Gadkari camp within the party, which is upset over being deliberately sidelined.

Fadnavis, however, called Khadse’s allegations “half-truth”.

“Everybody knows the facts of the criminal case lodged against him. I would not say anything at this juncture. In any such move, there needs to be a villain, Khadse has chosen me. It is true the party suffers damage even when an ordinary worker quits. But it doesn’t stop it from its progress,” he said.

Political analyst Hemant Desai said of late, many senior leaders have been sidelined, denied tickets or cut to size. “Pankaja Munde, Vinod Tawde and Chandrashekhar Bawankule are some of them. Khadse’s resignation may prove to be a blot on Fadnavis’s leadership as he has been directly targeted. It remains to be seen what more Khadse has in his armoury against Fadnavis,” he said.

Fadnavis has been key decision-maker in the state unit of the party for the past six years. “He has command over the state unit, with the blessings from the central leadership. Minutest of the decisions are not taken without his nod or keeping him in the loop. Khadse’s exit is a big blow for the party, but it would not hurt Fadnavis’s leadership immediately. The actions against Khadse were not taken by Fadnavis alone or without the approval of the national leadership. So Khadse’s attack will hardly have any effect on Fadnavis,” said a senior party leader.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said Fadnavis had in the past given clarifications to all allegations levelled by Khadse on Wednesday. He said the party unit tried its best to retain the senior leader, but could not succeed. The party however chose not to criticise Khadse.

“Nobody would say that he did not contribute to the party’s growth in Maharashtra. He was respected within the party. He was also made a minister between 1995 and 1999 and later in 2014, whenever the BJP was in power. However, criticising him will not look good for us. Besides, we will not antagonise the Leva Patil community by targetting him. The Leva Patils have a significant presence in north Maharashtra and they respect him,” said another BJP leader. “We wish him luck.”