No plan to switch parties, says Eknath Khadse after his angry remark

Making his anger with the Bharatiya Janata Party apparent, former minister and senior party leader Eknath Khadse said political loyalties could not be taken for granted. Speaking to DNA, however, Khadse denied that he had any plans to switch parties and added that his statement was aimed at Congress MP Ulhas Patil, who had hopped parties in the past.

Khadse was speaking at a function of his Leva Patil (OBC) community, which has a strong presence in Khandesh (north Maharashtra) region, in Bhusawal. "It is true that there is no alternative to staying organised. Leave alone politics, when it comes to a struggle, be it his party or mine, no one has a permanent stamp saying he will stay in that party only. No one should take this for granted in politics. But let me say something here. If injustice has been committed, it must be countered at the right time and right place. It is only then that the opposite party will know our strength and power," said Khadse.

Earlier, former Congress MP Dr Ulhas Patil had called on Khadse to join the Congress. But Khadse told Patil that "what is in your mind is not in mine".

But Khadse told DNA that he had not spoken about any plans to change parties, and added that his statement was aimed at Patil, who had switched sides twice in the past. "In my speech, I told Patil that what is in your mind is not in mine," he said.

In 2016, Khadse had to resign from the state cabinet after a controversy over his kin having purchased a three-acre plot reserved for the MIDC in Bhosari at a value less than the market rate.

Khadse is also said to be upset at the rise of Girish Mahajan within the party, who is a confidante of CM Fadnavis and has elbowed Khadse out from Jalgaon's local political scene.

Disgruntlement

After the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in state legislature after 2014 elections, Khadse had pitched himself as the chief ministerial candidate. But his claim was overruled in favour of Devendra Fadnavis.