Thaindian News

Mumbai, June 21 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Maharashtra unit Tuesday asserted that its leader Gopinath Munde would not leave the party even as Munde said that he would take a decision only after speaking with senior party leaders.

Eknath Khadse, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, said soon after an emergency meeting of BJP leaders, legislators and parliamentarians Tuesday afternoon that Munde would remain in the party.

“I am absolutely confident that he (Munde) will never leave the BJP,” Khadse said.

A short while later, Khadse and state party chief Sudhir Mungantiwar rushed to Worli in yet another attempt to pacify Munde, who was not invited to the meeting.

Munde told mediapersons that he was “pained” at the party’s decision not to invite him for the meeting at the Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai.

“Till the meeting ended, I was not invited. I am pained by today’s development. But I am still discussing with the senior party leaders and will take a decision later,” Munde said, keeping all options open.

Tuesday’s meeting was expected to clear the confusion arising out of series of Munde’s meetings with senior leaders of different parties in the state, including the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena, in the past three weeks.

However, the confusion is far from clear and a final picture is expected to emerge only after Munde’s meeting with Khadse and Mungantiwar is over.

Over the past two days, Munde was in talks with the top BJP leaders, including president Nitin Gadkari.

He also met L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitely and others.

At the same time, he is also believed to be in touch with top Congress leaders in the Delhi.

However, before leaving for a BJP meeting in New Delhi, Munde last Saturday denied in Mumbai that he was planning to join either the Congress, the NCP or `the Shiv Sena.