Mumbai: A day after joining the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) following his resignation from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Khadse on Saturday asserted that many people want to leave BJP and to stop them the party is saying that the Maharashtra government is going to collapse.
“Many people want to leave BJP and to stop them the party says the government (in Maharashtra) is going to collapse, but the government is not going to fall,” Khadse told ANI.
Commenting upon his priorities after joining NCP, Khadse said, “When we join the party, two things take place — we will strenthen the organisation and will work with the government for development. Our major priority is that with the help of government, development takes place in our area.”
Former BJP leader Eknath Khadse joined the NCP on Friday in the presence of party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai.
Earlier this week, Khadse had announced his intention to join the NCP and alleged that he had suffered a lot in the BJP.
Also read: Why Eknath Khadse’s exit ‘shatters BJP image’ and deals ‘Brand Fadnavis’ a blow
Khadse lost his clout long back. The fact that such an experienced leader failed to secure even the ticket to fight the last election and was overlooked for the posts at national level shows it was a matter of time he jumped ship.
As of now, the MVA government seems to be stable and there is no apparent threat. The government is guided by experienced Sharad Pawar, who is more than familiar with all the tricks of the trade. An outside chance, though very very slim, of the dissolution of the government under Article 356 appears far away in the horizon. This has been , one must confess, created due to unnecessary hounding of a TV channel by the government. This gives a leeway to the centre to suppose that freedom of the press/ media has been suppressed by the state government, an emergency- like situation has been created and imposition of centre-rule and fresh elections are warranted. Off course, the affected channel has a legal recourse which it would very much like to avail. And if the court verdict goes against the government and strictures are passed , this possibility would open up. As of now, there is nothing.
BJP has become a party today of which ID and password both are “lying”.
If the government indeed falls down, Khadse will have nowhere to go.