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Eknath Khadse

Eknath Khadse
Dr Jitendra thakur.jpg
Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council
In office
8 July 2022 – 8 April 2024
Constituencyelected by Legislative Assembly members
Minister of Revenue
Government of Maharashtra
In office
31 October 2014 – 4 June 2016
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Preceded byBalasaheb Thorat
Succeeded byChandrakant Patil
Minister of Agriculture
Government of Maharashtra
In office
31 October 2014 – 4 June 2016
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Preceded byRadhakrishna Vikhe-Patil
Succeeded byPandurang Fundkar
Minister of Excise
Government of Maharashtra
In office
31 October 2014 – 4 June 2016
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Preceded byPrithviraj Chavan
Succeeded byChandrashekhar Bawankule
Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries
Government of Maharashtra
In office
31 October 2014 – 4 June 2016
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Preceded byAbdul Sattar
Succeeded byMahadev Jankar
Minister of Minority Development & Wakf
Government of Maharashtra
In office
31 October 2014 – 4 June 2016
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Preceded byNaseem Khan
Succeeded byVinod Tawde
Leader of the House
Maharashtra Legislative Council
In office
9 December 2014 – 7 July 2016
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Preceded byR R Patil
Succeeded byChandrakant Patil
18th Leader of the Opposition
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
11 November 2009 – 21 October 2014
Chief MinisterAshok Chavan
Prithviraj Chavan
Preceded byRamdas Kadam
Succeeded byEknath Shinde
Minister of Water Resources
Government of Maharashtra
In office
June 1997 – 18 October 1999
Chief MinisterManohar Joshi
Narayan Rane
Preceded byMahadeo Shivankar
Minister of Finance
Government of Maharashtra
In office
September 1995 – June 1997
Chief MinisterManohar Joshi
Narayan Rane
Preceded byHashu Advani
Succeeded byMahadeo Shivankar
Minister of Higher & Technical Education
Government of Maharashtra
In office
June 1995 – September 1995
Chief MinisterManohar Joshi
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
1990–2019
Preceded byHaribhau Jaware
Succeeded byChandrakant Nimba Patil
ConstituencyMuktainagar
Personal details
Born (1952-09-02) 2 September 1952 (age 72)
Muktainagar, Bombay State, India
Political partyNationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) (since 2024)
Other political
affiliations		Nationalist Congress Party (2020–2024)
Bharatiya Janata Party (1980–2020)
SpouseManda[1]
Children3, including Rohini Khadse-Khewalkar
Residence(s)Kothadi, Muktainagar, Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India
Websitewww.nathabhau.com

Eknath Khadse (born 2 September 1952) is a politician and leader of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra state.[2][3] He was a Member of Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from Muktainagar constituency for six consecutive terms till 2019.[4] He was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party from 1987 until his resignation in October 2020.[5][6][7] He is a member of Legislative Council of Maharashtra.

Political career

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Early years

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Khadse lost his first election when he contested the Gram panchayat elections in Kothadi village. Later he became sarpanch of Kothadi village in 1984, remaining sarpanch until 1987.[8] In 1989, he was elected as member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly (MLA) for the Muktainagar constituency.

Khadse entered in active politics as a BJP worker in the 1980s and helped the party BJP establish its base in North Maharashtra.[9][10] In 1990's Khadse led karsevaks during Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He was arrested at Jhansi by Uttarpradesh police and was jailed for a month.[11]

Hailing from the influential Leva Patil community in North Maharashtra, Khadse quickly positioned himself as an OBC leader.[12]

State Minister (1995–1999)

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In 1995, Khadse became a minister in Chief Minister Manohar Joshi's state cabinet. He was close to then-deputy CM and BJP leader Gopinath Munde and handled finance and irrigation portfolios between 1995 and 1999.[13] After Joshi's resignation as the chief minister, he took an oath as minister when Narayan Rane became Chief minister.[14]

On 13 December 2005, Eknath Khadse was suspended for six months from Maharashtra state assembly's lower house due to making derogatory remarks against the then-speaker Babasaheb Kupekar and Deputy speaker Pramod Shende in their chambers.[15][16]

Opposition leader (2009–2014)

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Khadse served as the leader of the opposition from November 2009 to October 2014.[17] His successful tenure as the opposition leader led BJP to the victory in later 2014 election.[11]

2014 elections and chief minister contention

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He announced breakup of long-held Shivsena-BJP alliance before 2014 assembly election and BJP decided to contest that election alone without Shiv Sena.[18] He assured Narendra Modi that BJP can win this election on their own.[19] After the strong showing in 2014 elections, Khadse was seen as the strong conteder for the role of Chief minister of Maharashtra,[9][20] but Devendra Fadnavis was ultimately chosen for the post.[21][22] Khadse held more than dozen portfolios during the first two years including ministries of excise, revenue, and agriculture.

Resignation from ministry (2016)

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On 3 June 2016, Khadse resigned as Revenue Minister following allegations of corruption and misuse of office.[23] Since then he was allegedly sidelined by BJP and ignored by central leadership.[24]

For the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls, BJP dropped Khadse's name from the candidate's list.[25] Khadse blamed internal party politics, specifically Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan, for denial of a ticket.[26][27] Instead the party offered ticket to his daughter Rohini Khadse-Khewalkar. She lost a closely contested election by 1987 votes against Shiv sena's Chandrakant Nimba Patil.[28][29]

Resignation from the BJP and joining NCP

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He quit BJP in October 2020 and joined NCP.[6][30]

Controversies

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Khadse was involved in controversies even before 2016 corruption charges. He first courted controversy when he advised farmers to pay their electricity bills instead of splurging money on cellphones. TV news channels and print media criticized him for wastage 10,000 lit. of water for the creation of temporary helipad in his tour of drought suffering Latur that time.[31]

Accusations of nepotism

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Khadse's tendencies to forward the interests of his kin did not go down well with the rank and file of his party [BJP]. Many members harboured resentment over how he promoted his family members to important posts in Jalgaon. His daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse is an MP from Raver, while his daughter Rohini Khewalkar was made director of the district cooperative bank and wife Mandakini became the director of Mahanand, the state milk cooperative federation.[31]

Corruption charges and resignation

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Khadse resigned on 3 June 2016 after allegations of impropriety surfaced against him in a land deal in Pune. Realtor Hemant Gavande leveled charges of land grabbing against him, alleging that Khadse had misused his position as the State Revenue Minister to illegally execute sales deeds for a three-acre (1.2 ha) industrial plot at Bhosari in Pune District in the names of his wife and son-in-law. Khadse is accused of buying land at prices much lower than market price through his influence and ministry.[32] Former Aam Aadmi Party politician and activist Anjali Damania gone on hunger strike and demanded inquiry against Eknath Khadse.[33] She broke her hunger strike after then-CM Devendra Fadnavis assured her that he would do a proper investigation of the Pune land deal and other corruption accusations of Khadse.[33] She filed public interest litigation against Khadse. In the retaliation Khadse filed case against her at Muktainagar accusing her maligning his image by submitting false affidavits at Bombay High court and seek her arrest.[34] Khadse accused Damania of making false and defamatory statements against him and served defamation notice.[35][36][37] In 2017, following orders of Bombay High Court, the state anti corruption bureau registered case against Khadse, his wife Manda Khadse, and his son-in-law Girish Choudhary.[38]

In May 2018, Khadse claimed a clean chit from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Maharashtra Police, saying the ACB wasn't able to prove the allegations.[39][40]

On 30 December 2020 the Enforcement Directorate summoned him on this land deal case to interrogate and ask to provide documents.[38][32] Khadse later claimed that the land at Pune was purchased by his wife Manda Khadse and he personally had nothing to do with it.[38]

Personal life

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Khadse was born in Kothadi village to Ganpat Khadse and Godavari bai Khadse in Muktainagar tehsil of Jalgaon district. His son, Nikhil, committed suicide on 1 May 2013.[41] He hails from the Leva Patil community.[8] His daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse is a member of the 18th Lok Sabha from the Raver constituency, serving her third term and currently Minister of State for Youth and Sports.[42]

Philanthropy

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Khadse runs two private schools in Muktainagar.[43]

Positions held

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ कुलकर्णी, मुकुल (22 October 2020). "घरावर तुळशीपत्र ठेवून नाथाभाऊंचं पक्षासाठी काम;एकनाथ खडसे यांच्या पत्नी मंदाताई 'माझा'वर". ABP Majha (in Marathi). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  2. ^ "SHRI EKNATHRAO GANPATRAO KHADSE". legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in. Legislative Bodies in India. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  3. ^ Mukane, Pratik (23 October 2020). "Eknath Khadse joins NCP in presence of Sharad Pawar". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  4. ^ Phadke, Mansi (4 April 2020). "Khadse is six time MLA of Muktainagar". The Print. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  5. ^ मरगळे, प्रविण (21 October 2020). "Eknath Khadse: एकनाथ खडसेंनी भाजपाला दिला २ ओळींचा राजीनामा; राष्ट्रवादीत मिळणार मोठी जबाबदारी". Lokmat (in Marathi). Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b ""Devendra Fadnavis Destroyed My Life": Eknath Khadse Quits BJP For NCP". NDTV.com. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  7. ^ Dahat, Pavan (21 October 2020). "'I Built BJP In Maharashtra': Eknath Khadse Quits To Join NCP, All Eyes On Pankaja Munde Now". HuffPost India. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Eknath Khadse's political journey: From sarpanch to Number 2 in Cabinet". The Economic Times.
  9. ^ a b Phadke, Mansi (4 April 2020). "The relegation of Maharashtra minister from chip minister aspirant to just MLA". The Print. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  10. ^ Suryawanshi, Sudhir (5 June 2016). "Fierce and dynamic, Eknath Khadse enjoyed red beacon for 22 years". DNA India.
  11. ^ a b "Rise and fall of former BJP minister Eknath Khadse – Eknath Khadse, the BJP leader". The Economic Times. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  12. ^ Srivastava, Ritesh K (21 October 2020). "BJP on 'Red Alert', will OBC vote bank migrate with Eknath Khadse in Maharashtra?". Zee News. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  13. ^ "मुंडे असते तर अन्याय झाला नसता: खडसे". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Rane sworn in along with jumbo team". Indian Express. 1 February 1999. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  15. ^ "3 BJP MLAs suspended from Maharashtra Assembly". DNA India. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Politically Incorrect". Mumbai Mirror. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse says BJP broke off alliance with Shiv Sena at his behest". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  19. ^ "BJP Broke Off Alliance With Sena at My Behest: Maharashtra Revenue Minister". NDTV.com. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  20. ^ Chandavarkar, Rohit. "Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2014: Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar in the race of next Maharashtra chief minister". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Devendra Fadnavis took oath as first Chief minister of Maharashtra cabinet minister Eknath Khadse took oath". India Today. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  22. ^ Tare, Kiran (25 October 2020). "Why Eknath Khadse's exit is a blot on ex-CM Fadnavis's image". India Today. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigns after allegations of impropriety in land deal". Indian Express. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  24. ^ "'Stop Using My Name to Settle Scores with Opponents': Social Activist Anjali Damania Warns Eknath Khadse". News18. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  25. ^ Saha, Poulomi (11 October 2019). "Maharashtra polls: Dropped from candidates lists, Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde feature as BJP star campaigners". India Today. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Fadnavis, Mahajan behind denial of poll ticket to me: Eknath Khadse". Economic Times. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Devendra Fadnavis, Girish Mahajan Denied Giving Me Ticket: Eknath Khadse". NDTV. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  28. ^ Srinavasan, Chandrashekhar (24 October 2019). "Maharashtra assembly election result : Rohini Khadse daughter of BJP leader Eknath Khdase loses in Muktainagar". NDTV. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  29. ^ "Maharashtra polls: BJP drops Eknath Khadse, fields his daughter; Vinod Tawde also dropped". Times of India. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  30. ^ Phadke, Manasi (21 October 2020). "Why Eknath Khadse's exit 'shatters BJP image' and deals 'Brand Fadnavis' a blow". ThePrint. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  31. ^ a b "Eknath Khadse's rise and fall- Penchant for nepotism". Economics Times. New Delhi, India. 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  32. ^ a b "NCP leader Eknath Khadse appears before ED in Pune land deal case". India Today. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  33. ^ a b "Ex-AAP leader Anjali Damania begins fast to seek Khadse's ouster". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  34. ^ "BJP leader Eknath Khadse files FIR against activist Anjali Damania for maligning his image, seeks her arrest". Firstpost. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Eknath Khadse slaps Rs 10 crore defamation case on activist Anjali Damania – Times of India". The Times of India. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  36. ^ Sutar, Kamlesh Damodar; Tare, Kiran (8 September 2018). "Aurangabad HC quashes FIR against social activist Anjali Damania". India Today. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  37. ^ "Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigns after allegations of impropriety in land deal". The Indian Express. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  38. ^ a b c "ED summons Eknath Khadse in land deal case; he says will cooperate". India Today. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  39. ^ Banerjee, Shoumojit (1 May 2018). "Khadse claims 'clean chit' in land grab case". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  40. ^ Deshmukh, Chaitraly (18 May 2018). "Eknath Khadse Land-grab Case: Complainant cries foul after ACB gives clean chit to Khadse". mid-day. Pune. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  41. ^ "Nikhil Khadse was depressed, complained of severe back pain". Mumbai Mirror. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  42. ^ "BJP changes Raver nominee". The Times of India. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  43. ^ "SWA.NIKHIL BHAU KHADASE SEMI ENG MED SCH MUKTAINAGAR – Muktainagar, District Jalgaon (Maharashtra)". schools.org.in.
  44. ^ "Maharashtra: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis allots cabinet portfolios, keeps Home, Housing, Health with himself". DNA India. 2 November 2014.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Cabinet Minister for Revenue, Excise and Minority Affairs
Government of Maharashtra
31 October 2014 – 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Cabinet Minister for Agriculture
Government of Maharashtra
31 October 2014–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
 Maharashtra State Guardian Minister for Jalgaon district
2014–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
 Maharashtra State Guardian Minister for Buldhana district
2014–present 		Incumbent