Eknath Khadse claims he declined offer to join Ajit Pawar's faction

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Eknath Khadse has claimed that he was contacted by a loyalist of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar asking him to join his faction but he declined the offer.

I had received a call from NCP MLC Amol Mitkari on behalf of Ajit Pawar asking me to side with his faction. I told him flatly that I was loyal to Sharad Pawar. I will not leave him, Khadse told reporters.

Khadse, a former minister, left from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on unfavorable terms, bringing an end to his nearly four-decade-long association with the party in 2020. Subsequently, upon joining the NCP, he successfully secured a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. 

Commenting over the issue, Khadse's political rival from Jalgaon district and senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan said, I came to know that Khadse was trying to join the Ajit Pawar side but my advice to him is not to leave Sharad Pawar. He should stick with the senior Pawar.

In July of this year, Ajit Pawar and eight more MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government, sparking a power struggle between his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Both sides have been adamant that they are the true NCP and that the party has not split.