Khadse says let MVA govt replace Maha Yuti in assembly polls
Eknath Khadse criticizes the Maha Yuti government, urging a shift to Maha Vikas Aghadi, amid tensions over his potential return to BJP and internal rivalries.
As the chances of his return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) look increasingly thin, senior Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Eknath Khadse has turned critical of the Mahayuti government. Speaking on Saturday, Khadse said there is a need for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to replace Maha Yuti in power in the coming assembly polls. He said the Maha Yuti government has been acting with vengeance.
Speaking on Saturday, Khadse said, “I feel that the Mahayuti government should go and be replaced by the Maha Vikas Aghadi. For the past several months, my experience with Mahayuti has not been good as they have been acting with vengeance. There is an Enforcement Directorate used against some, while others face the Anti-Corruption Bureau.”
Khadse also criticised chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Ladki Bahin scheme, a ₹46,000 crore initiative. He said, “This scheme is fine, but it won’t create any wealth. Why not invest the same amount in building dams and roads?”
Before the Lok Sabha elections, Khadse met with BJP’s national president JP Nadda and indicated his likely return to the party he had left in October 2020.
Khadse claimed he had officially joined in Nadda’s presence, with an official announcement expected in March. However, state leadership, particularly deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Khadse’s rival Girish Mahajan, opposed the move. Mahajan repeatedly spoke against Khadse’s ‘homecoming’ and opposed the candidature of Khadse’s daughter-in-law, Raksha Khadse, in the Lok Sabha polls
Khadse then expressed dissatisfaction with his treatment by the BJP, threatening to return to the NCP if the situation remained unresolved.
Reacting to his remarks, BJP’s state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule had maintained that Khadse is ideologically aligned with the BJP and will support the party in the Assembly polls. “Khadsesaheb is a true believer in BJP’s ideology. He worked for BJP candidate Rakshatai Khadse in the Lok Sabha polls. He is known to keep his promises, and I am sure that he will work for the party in the ensuing elections,” he said.