Maharashtra horizon cloudy, BJP set to bring back senior leader who left blaming Devendra Fadnavis

Asked about whether he was moving back to the BJP, Khadse was non-committal. “I will make an appropriate decision after consulting everybody. There are some aspects which need to be considered.”

This was apparently a hint at the fact that the state BJP leadership, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is unlikely to be amenable to Khadse’s return. Highly placed sources in the BJP admitted that it was the central leadership that reached out to Khadse, and was keen that the switch happens before the Lok Sabha polls, where the party is facing a tough challenge.

Khadse had blamed Fadnavis and Cabinet minister Girish Mahajan at the time he left the BJP, accusing the two of trying to sabotage his stature in North Maharashtra. A source said that this, however, won’t come in the way of Khadse’s return now. “When it comes to organisation and polls, everybody will be made to set aside past grievances and work together.”

A highly respected leader of North Maharashtra, Khadse is a Leva Patil, who are OBCs – the group the BJP is trying to placate following its decision to extend reservation to the Marathas.

Sources said the BJP leadership hopes Khadse’s return will help the party quell discontent in key constituencies like Jalgaon (his home base) and Raver in North Maharashtra, which accounts for six Lok Sabha seats and 36 Assembly constituencies in all, and is seen as a BJP bastion.

On Wednesday, BJP sitting MP Unmesh Patil left to join the Shiv Sena (UBT), upset over being denied a ticket from Jalgaon. The BJP has fielded its former state women president and MLC Smita Wagh from here. In Raver, the BJP’s decision to repeat two-time sitting MP Raksha Khadse – Khadse’s daughter-in-law – has also caused some fissures.

The BJP hopes these problems can be resolved if Khadse with his heft weighs in.

State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed the party was confident about North Maharashtra. “We will sweep the polls in the region. We have a strong organisation and committed cadre there.”

The bitterness between Fadnavis and Khadse goes back to the 2014 Assembly elections. After the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition won, Khadse hoped to become the CM, being among the BJP’s seniormost leaders. However, the BJP central leadership picked Fadnavis. Khadse was soothed with important portfolios such as Revenue and Agriculture, and considered the No.2 in the Fadnavis government.

However, within a couple of years, Khadse faced corruption charges over a land deal in Pune. It was alleged that as Revenue Minister, Khadse had “managed” the deal for a 3.1-acre MIDC plot in Bhosari in Pune, ensuring that it was bought by his wife and son-in-law for as low as Rs 3.75 crore, against the going rate of Rs 30. 01 crore.

As the Anti-Corruption Bureau initiated a probe on the orders of the Bombay High Court, Khadse resigned as minister in 2016. He continued to deny the charges, alleging he was framed by own party rivals.

The party leadership assured Khadse that he would be reinstated once the investigation was over and he emerged clean, but he kept waiting for that to happen. This was a blow to the senior leader who had always held top positions in the BJP, including Finance Minister during the first Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra in 1995-1999.

Khadse was also suspicious about the growing influence of minister Girish Mahajan, who was seen as a close associate of Fadnavis.

Then, in the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP denied Khadse the ticket from Muktainagar, in Jalgaon district, a seat he had represented from 1990 and where he was the sitting MLA. The party instead fielded his daughter Rohini, who ended up losing to Independent candidate Chandrakant Patil.

Khadse continued to openly talk about Fadnavis “demolishing” his political career “by framing me in a false case”, with the then CM denying any hand. “The investigation followed court orders. There was no question of political vendetta,” Fadnavis said.

Top BJP leaders said this “outspokenness” — which gave fodder to the Opposition’s attacks on Fadnavis — made it difficult for the party to rehabilitate Khadse.

A BJP functionary who has closely worked with Khadse said the party also tried its best to retain the senior leader when he announced he was leaving the party.

Pointing to his stint in the NCP, the leader said: “Khadse got a raw deal in the party. He was not even made a Cabinet minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by CM Uddhav Thackeray (of which the NCP was a part). Khadse could get nowhere close to the stature he enjoyed in the BJP.”

While the ticket to daughter-in-law Raksha may be one consideration on Khadse’s mind — she is believed to have convinced him to return to the BJP — he would also have to factor in that his daughter Rohini Khadse is a senior NCP (SP) leader, heading its women’s wing in Maharashtra.