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Maharashtra BJP in-fighting? Eknath Khadse locks horns with Girish Mahajan for Lok Sabha ticket from Raver

Khadse wants Raver for his daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse, while Mahajan is looking to bag it for wife Sandhya Mahajan.

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Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse who was once chief minister aspirant and face of the party for OBC community is fighting one of the hardest battles of his political career. 

Khadse has been using all his contacts in party and resources to get the Lok Sabha ticket for his daughter-in-law and sitting BJP MP Raksha Khadse from Raver Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. 

Sources in BJP say that there are huge chances the BJP may deny another chance to  Raksha Khadse citing her poor performance as an MP and negative rating in the multiple internal surveys conducted by the party.  She is one of the 11 sitting BJP MPs in danger zone after the internal survey was conducted.

"We have sent three probable names for the Raver Lok Sabha constituency that includes sitting MP Raksha Khadse, Sadana Mahajan, (spouse of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' blue-eyed-boy Girish Mahajan) and former BJP MP and present MLA Haribhau Javale. Sadana Mahajan has emerged as a front runner", said sources.

When asked about this race, Girish Mahajan he said the final decision over ticket distribution is taken by the parliamentary board of BJP in New Delhi. He kept the suspense alive and refused to talk further about the issue.

Eknath Khadse's political influence was affected badly after his alleged involvement in Pune land scam came under the spotlight. He was forced to resign over the matter in 2016. Since then, Khadse has been sidelined in the party. 

"In 2014, Khadse was the prominent face of the BJP and was given the responsibility of the North Maharashtra's six Lok Sabha seats while in 2019, this same responsibility has been entrusted to Girish Mahajan who was Khadse's junior. Khadse has been contained to only one seat in Raver. That too is likely to slip away from Khdase. Mahajan, once a die-hard supporter and loyalist of Khadse, is now using all tricks to cut down the political power of Khadse and his family members. Interestingly, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is extending all possible support to Mahajan," said a highly placed sources in BJP.

An insider in the party said that they wanted to cut Raksha Khadse ticket, therefore, multiple names were submitted to the parliamentary board. "Otherwise, they would have finalised the sole sitting MP name. A huge political race is on in Jalgaon. Khadse is losing patience so he had also called his supporters for a meeting on Wednesday at his bungalow in Jalgaon. He is keeping a close watch and has kept open all possible options," said a source who was part of this confidential meeting.

Girish Mahajan who comes from Gujar community (agrarian community) is emerging as a strong face of the BJP in the district. His wife Sadana Mahajan is the front runner for Raver Lok Sabha polls. She was recently elected as president of Jamner Municipal Corporations with a record number of votes. 

"Khadse belongs to Leva Patil caste (OBC community) while his daughter-in-law is from Gujar community. The other aspirant, Haribhau Javale, is also Leva Patil. Raver Lok Sabha constituency has been traditionally represented by the Leva Patil leaders only. Earlier, Shiv Sena leader Suresh Jain had tried multiple times to get elected as an MP but he did not succeed. This time Mahajan is trying his luck to get BJP ticket and win the polls" said sources.

Girish Mahajan's political stock in BJP has gone up dramatically after Mahajan successfully led the BJP campaigns that won several corporation polls in Nasik, Jalgaon, Dhule, and Ahmednagar districts. His latest successful endeavour was getting Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son Sujay Vikhe Patil to join the BJP. Mahajan has emerged as the troubleshooter for Fadnavis government. It will be interesting to see if Lady Luck smiles on Mr and Mrs Mahajan to get Raver Lok Sabha ticket.

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