Some reports have said Eknath Khadse may switch over the NCP
Former Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Wednesday admitted that senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse was unhappy with the party, but said all efforts will be made to pacify him. There have been speculations that Mr Khadse might switch over to the NCP.
He resigned as revenue minister in 2016 in the then BJP-led government over allegations of impropriety in a land deal. He was at that time the senior-most minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Cabinet.
Speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur on Wednesday, Mr Mungantiwar said, "Khadse saheb will not leave the BJP. Our party is in his DNA."
"He (Khadse) is unhappy, but we will try to convince him to stay in the BJP," the senior party leader said.
Mr Khadse has been sulking since he was forced to resign in 2016. The chasm between him and the BJP grew wider after he was denied a ticket to contest the state assembly polls held in October this year.
Though the BJP fielded his daughter Rohini in his place, she was defeated in the polls. Mr Khadse has been blaming certain leaders in the BJP for the defeat of his daughter.