'Khadse doesn't seem joining any party now, but upset with BJP'

The NCP on Tuesday said that disgruntled BJP leader Eknath Khadse may not be joining any party immediately but he looks disappointed with the BJP. Speculation is doing rounds that Khadse might switch his loyalties to the Sharad Pawar-led party. Speaking to reporters after attending a meeting of NCP legislators addressed by Sharad Pawar in night, the party spokesperson Nawab Malik admitted that Khadse had met Pawar.

"Khadse had met Pawar but it was his personal visit. He has not yet decided to join any party," Malik said. However, the NCP leader also said that Khadse looks disappointed with the BJP. "The way he was treated in that party...Khadse looks demoralised. It seems he is in a different state of mind now..," Malik said cryptically. Speaking about the meeting held by Pawar, Malik said the NCP legislators aired various issues plaguing Maharashtra and gave suggestions to the new government to handle them. Khadse has been sulking since he was forced to resign as Revenue Minister in 2016 in the then BJP-led government over allegations of impropriety in a land deal.

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Khadse's chasm with BJP

The chasm between him and the BJP grew wider after he was denied a ticket to contest the 2019 assembly polls. Though the BJP fielded his daughter Rohini in his place, she tasted defeat in the polls. Khadse has been blaming certain leaders in the BJP (read Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan) for the defeat of his daughter.

Meanwhile, when asked about reports that Meerat in Uttar Pradesh could be named as Pandit Nathuram Godse Nagar, Malik said any such decision would be opposed strongly. "If the name of the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi were to be given (to the district), we will oppose it. I am sure that people will remove that name if the government goes ahead with new nomenclature," he said.

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