Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said nobody from the party's state unit was against former minister Eknath Khadse's plan to return to the party.
Khadse, who is currently with the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), announced in the first week of April that he would return to the BJP fold in a fortnight.
Khadse quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2016, ending his almost four decade-long association with the party. He had first resigned as a Maharashtra minister following allegations of irregularities in MIDC Bhosari land case. In 2020, he joined the undivided NCP after alleging that Devendra Fadnavis was trying to finish off his political career.
When asked about Khadse's announcement, Bawankule said, "There is no objection at the state level to Khadse's return to the BJP. The party's central committee in Delhi will decide the date for Khadse's return to the BJP fold." "There is no aversion in our minds towards his return," he said.
Speaking elsewhere, BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan, said, "Khadse is a very senior leader. He only talks to BJP leaders in Delhi. I am a very small person before him. How can I even comment or decide on whether he will join the party or not." Earlier this month, Mahajan said that Khadse hardly wields any political influence.
The BJP has renominated sitting MP Raksha Khadse, the daughter-in-law of Eknath Khadse, from Raver Lok Sabha constituency. She met Eknath Khadse on Thursday to seek his blessings.
Speaking to reporters from Jalgaon district, Eknath Khadse said, "Raksha is like a daughter to me. I wish that she wins the seat. However, I have not yet joined the BJP. Therefore, there is no question of accompanying her at the time of her filing of her nomination form."
