Khadse takes chopper to Mumbai, hints at dropping a ‘bomb’ on BJP

By QUAID NAJMI Mumbai/Jalgaon, Oct 22 : Senior Maharashtra leader Eknath Khadse, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, made a grand entry by helicopter into Mumbai and as he prepares to join the ruling coalition partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), hinted at dropping a “political bomb” on his former party.
Accompanied by wife Manda and daughter Rohini Khadse-Khevalkar, he was lustily cheered and welcomed by a large group of his supporters, some even waving NCP flags, when he alighted from a private chopper this afternoon, flying in from Jalgaon and then heading for his Mumbai residence.
Earlier, interacting with media persons in his Muktainagar home, Khadse hinted at dropping political bombs on his former party claiming that “many BJP sitting legislators” were in contact with him, but could not come out in the open owing to the anti-defection laws.
Besides, he said another dozen-odd former BJP legislators, several district leaders, cooperative bank directors, party activists and supporters are likely to accompany him when he joins the NCP on Friday afternoon.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase told IANS that they have “organised a function on Friday afternoon where he will join the party in the presence of NCP President Sharad Pawar and other senior leaders, ministers, etc”.
However, it is not clear how many other people would switch loyalties to the NCP along with Khadse, although several BJP bigwigs including Leader of Opposition in the Council Pravin Darekar assured that “no legislators are with Khadse”.