Eknath Khadse's return to BJP shows Maharashtra class of 2019 is back in action

With Eknath Khadse announcing that he is returning to the BJP, prominent BJP leaders who had been sidelined during or after the 2019 assembly elections seem to be back in action. Many frontline BJP leaders fell out of favour by the end of the BJP-led state government’s tenure by 2019. They included Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde and Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Khadse had to resign as revenue minister following allegations of misuse of office for his family’s benefit.

Tawde and Bawankule were not given tickets in the 2019 assembly elections though both were ministers in the outgoing government. Pankaja Munde lost the 2019 election. In the days to follow, all four of them were completely sidelined in the party’s affairs. While Tawde and Bawankule chose to keep quiet, Khadse and Munde publicly slammed the local BJP leadership for the treatment meted out to them. Five years later, things seem to be changing. Bawankule is the state BJP president, Tawde is national general secretary and playing an important role in BJP’s election management. Munde has been given Lok Sabha ticket from Beed. Khadse will be returning to the BJP within a fortnight. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the person he has been targeting for the past few years, has not yet reacted to his return to the party. His close aide and Khadse’s sworn rival in Jalgaon’s local politics, Girish Mahajan said Khadse may have a hotline to Delhi but at a local level he is a spent force who can’t even win a gram panchayat election.

Two former Sena rebels waiting in the wings

Meanwhile, two former Shiv Sena rebels--Chhagan Bhujbal and Narayan Rane--are waiting for their tickets to fight the Lok Sabha elections. According to their party colleagues, both were initially not keen to jump into the electoral fray but are now ready to contest. Rane, who is union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, could be fielded as BJP candidate from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency. His opponent would be Shiv Sena (UBT) sitting MP Vinayak Raut. Rane, who has never contested LS elections before, will have an opportunity to take revenge for the defeat of his son Nilesh Rane whom Raut defeated in 2014 and 2019 elections. Bhujbal, also has a similar opportunity. In 2014, he contested Lok Sabha election as NCP candidate from Nashik and was defeated by Shiv Sena’s Hemant Godse. In 2019, his nephew Sameer was defeated by Godse. Now, Godse’s third term is under threat even before a single vote is cast. As the BJP’s assessment shows he may not win the election, the party wants Shinde to hand over the seat to Ajit Pawar-led NCP which can field Bhujbal. Godse has been insisting that he will contest the election. Local Shiv Sena leaders point out that the Maratha votes will go against ruling alliance since Bhujbal was vocal against Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s demand for reservation for the community. It is not a coincidence that Maratha outfits on Saturday announced their opposition to Bhujbal’s candidature.

Dual loyalities

NCP’s candidate from Osmanabad constituency, Archana Patil, kicked up a row when she wondered how she could work for the growth of NCP when her husband is a BJP MLA. NCP leaders were quick to clarify that she was misquoted by the media and what she meant was she would work for all three parties in ruling alliance and not only NCP. It has however brought into focus a few instances of members of one family representing different parties. Archana Patil’s husband Rana Jagjitsinh Patil is a BJP MLA. NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse’s daughter in law Raksha has been renominated by BJP in Raver constituency. While Khadse is set to return to the BJP, his daughter Rohini has announced that she will continue to be with Sharad Pawar-led NCP. In Madha constituency, the Mohite-Patil clan led by Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil may have dual loyalty. His nephew Dhairyasheel may contest election as a candidate of NCP (SP) while his son Ranjitsinh is BJP legislator. All this just goes to prove that party loyalty can sometimes take a backseat when it comes to power.

Ambition vs reality

An ambitious leader in the MVA wanted to contest Lok Sabha election from a constituency in Mumbai but his party did not get the seat he was eyeing. In line with the current tradition of keeping ideology aside for opportunity, he tapped the possibility of joining BJP. After a quick survey, the party found that he was not likely to win the election. So, he was informed that although he could join the party, there was no guarantee of fighting these LS polls. Not one to give up hope, the leader has now knocked on the doors of BJP’s ally and is awaiting a response.