Amid speculations of a rift within the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior party leader Eknath Khadse on Tuesday met Shiv Sena president and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The meeting, which lasted over 40 minutes, comes a day after Mr. Khadse called on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi.
A section of OBC leaders within the BJP, including Mr. Khadse and former minister Pankaja Munde, is reportedly unhappy with the former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis. They believe he played a role in the party’s defeat in recent State polls.
“I am not unhappy in the BJP. It is true that other parties may want a political worker with my experience of over 40 years with them. But I have not taken any such decision yet,” Mr. Khadse after the meeting. However, he did not let go of the opportunity to subtly criticise Mr. Fadnavis.
“Work on the memorial of late Gopinath Munde could not be completed by the previous government after I stepped down from the ministry. I have requested Uddhav ji to build a memorial in Aurangabad and, if needed, visit the work,” he said.
When asked about senior BJP leaders such as Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vinod Tawde being assigned to pacify him and stop his possible rebellion, Mr. Khadse said all of them had been his friends for decades. “I always meet them. Of course we discuss politics when we meet and also the reasons for our loss in election. But that is it. I never allowed a situation in all these years where someone had to come to pacify me,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Khadse held a meeting with Ms. Munde, who will be revealing her cards on December 12 in a public rally at Gopinathgad in Beed district. Mr. Khadse said he, Mr. Tawde, Prakash Mehta and Raj Purohit would be present on occasion.
Both Mr. Khadse and Ms. Munde represent the OBC section in the BJP. While Ms. Munde has said she will not quit the BJP, her statements holding the State leadership responsible for her electoral loss have made the party uncomfortable.
When asked, Mr. Mungantiwar said it is possible that someone would feel sad after what has happened. “But I am confident that no one will quit the party.”
