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Khadse would fill leadership vaccum in north Maharashtra: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

Pawar further clarified that no one was unhappy because Khadse has joined the party.

Khadse would fill leadership vaccum in north Maharashtra: NCP chief Sharad Pawar
SHARES

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said he was happy that Eknath Khadse has joined the party. He said that his induction will fill the leadership vacuum in North Maharashtra and will strengthen the NCP’s hold in Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar. 

“There was a time when Congress had a complete hold in the Jalgaon district. The first Congress conference before Independence happened in Jalgaon. However, Khadse was able to strengthen BJP’s hold in the district which the local leadership failed to do,” Pawar said. 

The NCP chief said that Khadse was instrumental in developing the BJP in Jalgaon and the party is happy to have him as he is a mass leader and would help to fill the leadership vacuum in North Maharashtra. 

During his induction, Khadse said that he will work to expand the footprint of NCP as he did for BJP. “I would need Sharad Pawar’s support to do so,” he added. 

Pawar further clarified that no one was unhappy because Khadse has joined the party. Earlier, there were speculations that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was upset over Khadse joining the NCP as the former is under home-quarantine despite being tested negative. 

Reacting to this, Pawar said that precautions in the times of COVID are necessary and no one was upset over Khadse joining the party. The NCP chief said that there will be no changes in the ministry portfolio and Khadse would work to strengthen the party without any exceptions. 

On Wednesday, Khadse submitted his resignation to Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and decided to come into NCP’s fold. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray welcomed him to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) family comprising of Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP. 

Khadse joined the NCP along with 70 other workers. His daughter Rohini Khadse and wife Mandakini joined the party on Friday as well. Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said that the entry of Khadse will help strengthen the party across the state. 

Earlier, after resigning from the BJP, Khadse blamed Devendra Fadnavis for his resignation. He alleged that the former Chief Minister instructed the police to file a “false” harassment case against him.

“Devendra Fadnavis destroyed my life. I feel sad about quitting the BJP but I have no choice. Fadnavis instructed the police to file a case against me on false allegations of harassment by a woman. I came clean on the corruption charges levelled against me,” Khadse said. 

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