Eknath Khadse

Eknath Khadse (born 2 September 1952) is a politician and senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra state.[4][5] He was a Member of Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from Muktainagar constituency for six consecutive terms till 2019.[6]

Eknath Khadse
Revenue, Agriculture minister of Maharashtra[1]
In office
31 October 2014 – 4 June 2016 [1]
Preceded byPresident's rule
Succeeded byChandrakant Bacchu Patil
Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
for Muktainagar[2]
In office
1989–2019
Finance and Irrigation minister of Maharashtra
In office
1995 – 1999[3]
Leader of opposition in Maharashtra legislative assembly[3]
In office
2009–2014
Personal details
Born (1952-09-02) 2 September 1952
Muktainagar, Bombay State, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party [BJP]
Spouse(s)Mandakini Khadse
ChildrenSharda Chaudhari (daughter) Nikhil Khadse (Late Son)
Rohini Khadse-Khewalkar (daughter)
ResidenceKothali, Muktainagar, Jalgaon District
Websitewww.nathabhau.com

Personal life

Eknath Khadse was born in Kothali village to Ganpat Khadse and Godavari bai Khadse in Muktainagar tehsil of Jalgaon district. His son, Nikhil Khadse, committed suicide on 1 May 2013.[7] His daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse is a member of the 16th Lok Sabha from the Raver constituency, serving her second term.[8]

Political career

Khadse lost his first election when he contested in Grampanchayat elections in Kothadi village. Later he became sarpanch of Kothadi village in 1987.[9] In 1989, he elected as member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly (MLA) for 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[10] hailing from Leva community, Khadse had positioned himself as an OBC leader.

He handled both finance and irrigation portfolios in the 1995–1999 Maharashtra state government led by the Shiv Sena–BJP alliance. Khadse served as the leader of the opposition from November 2009 to October 2014.[11]

In 2014, He was one of the names considered for the post of Chief Minister of Maharashtra,[10][12] but Devendra Fadanvis was ultimately chosen for the post.[13][14]

On 3 June 2016, Khadse resigned as Revenue Minister following allegations of corruption and misuse of office.[15]

For 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls, BJP dropped Eknath Khdase's name from candidate's list.[16] Khadse blamed internal party politics, specifically Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan, for denial of a ticket.[17][18] Instead the party offered ticket to his daughter Rohini Khadse-Khevalkar. She lost a closely contested election by 1987 votes against Shiv sena's Chandrakant Nimba Patil.[19][20]

Controversies

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.[21]

Accusations of nepotism

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 Jalgaon, 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.[21]

Corruption charges and resignation

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 has denied the allegations and termed them as a conspiracy against him hatched by political rivals.[22] 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.[23][24]

Positions held
  • Sarpanch of Kothali (1988 - 1989).
  • Member of Maharashtra legislative assembly for Muktainagar (1989 - 2019).
  • Minister for Higher and Technical Education (June 1995 to September 1995).
  • Minister for Finance and Planning (September 1995 to June 1997).
  • Minister for Irrigation and Command Area Development (June 1997 to October 1999).
  • Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (November 2009 to August 2014).
  • Minister of Revenue, Agriculture, State Excise of Maharashtra (October 2014 to June 2016).[25]
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References
  1. https://www.news18.com/news/politics/eknath-khadse-resigns-as-maharashtra-minister-over-corruption-allegations-1251975.html
  2. https://theprint.in/statedraft/the-relegation-of-maharashtra-minister-eknath-khadse-from-cm-aspirant-to-just-another-mla/184247/
  3. https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/eknath-khadses-political-journey-from-sarpanch-to-number-2-in-cabinet/articleshow/52589896.cms
  4. Republic world, Digital desk (8 November 2019). "Make public whatever was decided between BJP-Sena: Fmr Maharashtra min". Republic world. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  5. of Republic world, Digital desk (8 November 2019). "Make public whatever was decided between BJP-Sena: Fmr Maharashtra min". Republic World. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  6. Phadke, Mansi (4 April 2020). "Khadse is six time MLA of Muktainagar". The Print. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. "Nikhil Khadse was depressed, complained of severe back pain". Mumbai Mirror. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  8. "BJP changes Raver nominee". The Times of India. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  9. "Eknath Khadse's political journey: From sarpanch to Number 2 in Cabinet". Economictimes. Economictimes. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  10. Phadke, Mansi (4 April 2020). "The relegation of Maharashtra minister from chip minister aspirant to just MLA". The Print. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "SHRI EKNATHRAO GANPASTRAO KHADSE". legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  13. Chandavarkar, Rohit (22 October 2014). "Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2014: Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar in the race of next Maharashtra chief minister". Economic Times. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  14. "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.
  15. "Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigns after allegations of impropriety in land deal". Indian Express. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  16. 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.
  17. "Fadnavis, Mahajan behind denial of poll ticket to me: Eknath Khadse". Economic Times. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  18. "Devendra Fadnavis, Girish Mahajan Denied Giving Me Ticket: Eknath Khadse". NDTV. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  19. 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.
  20. "Maharashtra polls: BJP drops Eknath Khadse, fields his daughter; Vinod Tawde also dropped". Times of India. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  21. "Eknath Khadse's rise and fall- Penchant for nepotism". Economics Times. New Delhi , India. 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  22. "Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse resigns after allegations of impropriety in land deal". The Indian Express. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  23. Banerjee, Shoumojit (1 May 2018). "Khadse claims 'clean chit' in land grab case". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  24. 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.
  25. "Maharashtra: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis allots cabinet portfolios, keeps Home, Housing, Health with himself". DNA India. 2 November 2014.
Political offices
Preceded by
Narayan Rane		 Cabinet Minister for Revenue, Excise and Minority Affairs
Government of Maharashtra
31 October 2014 –		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Balasaheb Thorat		 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
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