The decision of former Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse to quit the BJP and join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has not come as a surprise. In fact, the saffron party’s strongman from Jalgaon, who had been elected six times from the Muktainagar Assembly segment, had been unhappy with the manner in which he had been treated by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and therefore, it was natural that he accused him of ruining his political career, after joining his new party. Khadse has been one of the unsung architects of the BJP in the state, and many had even considered him at one point as a possible Chief Minister. However, politics has its own uncertainties and when the time came, the party’s central leadership preferred Fadnavis over him, and he had to settle for a ministerial berth to begin with. His rivalry with Fadnavis persisted and in 2016, Khadse was forced to resign from the Cabinet, following charges of corruption levelled against him. It was alleged that as the Revenue minister, he had brokered a deal where his family members benefited. The allegation could never be proved and the matter is still pending. The resignation put a blot on Khadse’s political journey, and prevented him from aspiring for any major position thereafter. Matters became worse for him when he was last time denied an Assembly ticket. His daughter-in-law, Raksha Khadse, in the meantime, was elected as a BJP candidate from the Raver Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. She continues to be with the BJP, though Khadse, who is likely to join the Maharashtra Cabinet, has started his new innings under Sharad Pawar.
Fadnavis has been on the defensive ever since, and has been trying to explain how he had no role in pushing out Khadse from the party. The damage has already been done. The former Chief Minister’s supporters are of the view that his leaving the BJP would not make any difference. They may be totally wrong. Whenever a strongman of any party parts company with the organisation he has helped to build, there is always a huge cost. In 1977, when Jagjiwan Ram along with H.N. Bahuguna and Nandni Satpathy resigned from the Congress and formed their own party, Congress for Democracy, Indira Gandhi knew that it would be extremely difficult for her to win the Lok Sabha elections. Rest is history since the sitting Prime Minister lost to her opponent, Raj Narain, from her traditional Rae Bareilly seat. In Delhi, Madan Lal Khurana left the BJP briefly but the result was for everyone to see. The BJP has never won the Delhi Assembly for the past 22 years. Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s resignation from the Congress sealed its fate in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, there are many examples including those of Dushyant Chauthala in Haryana where the parent party got affected due to the activities of its own people.
Khadse should have been treated with the dignity he deserved. His example should help the BJP and its rivals to learn some elementary lessons. Loyalists of the party should not be sacrificed in power politics. If that happens, every political party should be prepared to pay the price.