Mumbai:
A bitterly angry senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, former minister, Eknath Khadse on Wednesday vented his anger on his own party-men and anti-BJP forces accusing them of plotting the defeat of Pankaja Munde and his own daughter Rohini Khadse. Speaking to newspersons after meeting a sulking Pankaja Munde at her official residence, Royal Stone near Malabar Hill in south Mumbai, the former BJP minister remarked “had there been proper planning, we could have won more than 105 seats. Somebody needs to take the blame. If not as a party, at least those who lead the party should take the blame”, he said in an indirect reference to former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The senior BJP leader who himself was denied ticket from his Muktainagar assembly constituency, disclosed that he had given names of such party-men to state BJP president Chandrakant Patil and demanded strict action against them. Pankaja Munde lost from Parli assembly seat against her estranged cousin brother and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde.
Khadse met Pankaja for more than an hour at the latters residence. Terming the meeting as a family meeting, he added that he had close friendship with Pankaja’s father late Gopinath Munde and felt like part of their family. The senior BJP leader disclosed that they discussed the causes of defeat and decided to inform the party leadership about it and demand strict action against those who plotted the defeat of Pankaja Munde and Rohini Khadse.
When asked whether he felt that there was an insider’s job behind the defeat of Pankaja Munde and Rohini Khadse, he remarked, “definitely. Yesterday also I said the same thing and day before yesterday also I said the same thing. It seems that both Pankaja Munde and Rohini Khadse were defeated by party insider’s and those working against the party. We have demanded action be taken against these people and given their names to the party leadership. State party president and organizational secretary are visiting Jalgaon on December 7 to conduct an inquiry”.
He further added that the feeling of unhappiness amongst the party cadres and leaders has been communicated to the party leadership. Khadse further remarked “in both the constituencies, efforts were made directly and indirectly through party cadres to defeat Pankaja Munde and Rohini Khadse. I expect that action is taken against those indulging in anti-party activities”. When asked whether party was sidelining Other Backward Classes (OBC) leaders in the party, he added “unfortunately this picture is truly seen in the party”.
Khadse stated that in this assembly elections OBC leadership in the party was defeated. Leaders like Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Vinod Tawde were denied tickets, while leaders like Prakash Mehta, Pankaja Munde and Rohini Khadse were defeated.
Asked whether the unhappy leaders within the party were grouping, he added that there is no need for grouping the unhappy cadres and leaders, they automatically come together.
