Mumbai: Senior NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse on Sunday celebrated his 75th birthday in Muktainagar in Jalgaon district with a grand gathering, featuring top political leaders from across party lines.
But chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, with whom Khadse has had long-standing political differences and whom he had invited for his birthday, skipped the event, prompting the veteran leader to take a swipe at the “changing political culture”.
Khadse also highlighted his contribution to the development of Jalgaon during his tenure as an MLA and minister, when he initiated several development projects alongside making efforts to ensure the region’s social fabric was not disturbed.
“Once upon a time, the BJP’s political presence in Maharashtra was limited. At the time, he accused Fadnavis, then Deputy Chief Minister, of attempting to end his political career. Among those present were union ministers Ramdas Athawale and Raksha Khadse, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, NCP (SP) Maharashtra chief Shashikant Shinde, NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil, Peasants and Workers Party leader Jayant Patil and RSP leader Mahadev Jankar.
After the 2014 assembly poll, Khadse was named a senior minister in the Fadnavis-led BJP government. But he resigned from the post in 2016 amid allegations of misuse of office in connection with a land deal in Bhosari, Pune. In the subsequent assembly poll in 2019, he was denied a BJP ticket. In October 2020, the veteran leader quit the BJP and joined the undivided NCP in the presence of Sharad Pawar.
Among those who worked tirelessly to establish the party at the grassroots level were Pramod Mahajan and Eknath Khadse,” Pawar said.
