As BJP delays his reinduction, Khadse mulls NCP (SCP) return

Nashik: Former state minister and senior politician Eknath Khadse has not ruled out the possibility of returning to NCP (SCP) since his plans to rejoin BJP have "not worked out".
"I had resigned from NCP (SCP) in April, as I was keen on rejoining BJP, the party I was associated with for over four decades. However, my reinduction into BJP has yet to materialise, although it has been more than five months since I met central BJP brass.I am not ruling out the possibility of rejoining NCP (SCP) as things have not worked out on the BJP front," Khadse said on Tuesday.
He claimed BJP national president J P Nadda and national general secretary Vinod Tawade had "welcomed him back into the party" when he met them in Delhi a few months ago. "However, the formal reinduction into BJP could not take place due to opposition from some BJP functionaries. I have lost interest in rejoining BJP now," said Khadse, who had quit BJP in 2020 because of his bitter relationship with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
What has fuelled speculations on Khadse's return to the NCP (SCP) fold is the fact that his supporters had put up banners in different parts of Jalgaon's Muktainagar assembly constituency, wishing the septuagenarian politician on his birthday on Tuesday. The banners also carried photographs of NCP (SCP) supremo Sharad Pawar and former Jalgaon NCP (SCP) district chief Ravindra Patil.
According to Khadse, both Pawar and state NCP(SCP) chief Jayant Patil had not accepted the resignation letter he had submitted when he quit the party. "Moreover, I am still the MLC representing NCP (SCP) in the Vidhan Parishad. I will take a final call on rejoining NCP (SCP) soon," said Khadse.
Khadse had played an important role in ensuring his daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse's victory in the Lok Sabha polls from the Raver constituency in Jalgaon. Khadse's supporters said that Khadse's rejoining NCP(SCP) will help his daughter Rohini, who is likely to contest the Muktainagar assembly seat on an NCP(SCP) ticket. Khadse had won the Muktainagar seat on BJP ticket six consecutive times till 2014. However, in 2019, the party denied him the ticket and instead fielded Rohini. She lost the polls by a margin of about 3,000 votes.