Permanent loyalty to a party can not be taken for granted in politics, disgruntled BJP leader Eknath Khadse has said.
It prompted the opposition NCP to claim Wednesday that several leaders of the saffron party were on their way out.
Khadse, who resigned as minister in the BJP-led Maharashtra government in 2016, was speaking in Bhusawal town Tuesday. Congress leader Ulhas Patil also attended the event.
Speaking before Khadse, Patil invited the senior BJP leader to join the Congress, saying the BJP has done him injustice.
In his speech, Khadse said, "What is in your mind, is not in my mind Ulhas Patil.
"It is true that there is no alternative to the organisation....(but) Be it his (Patil's) party or my party, nobody is bound to stay in a party (forever). And it should not be taken for granted in politics," he added.
If injustice done, it should be countered "at the right time, in the right manner to ensure they (who are being unjust) come to know the person's strength", Khadse said.
The BJP leader had to step down from the Maharashtra government after there were accusations of irregularities in a land deal made by his relatives. Since then, Khadse, who denied the allegations, has taken swipes at his party occasionally.
Latching onto Khadse's remarks, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik claimed Wednesday that it showed "there is something brewing" in the BJP.
"We think several BJP leaders will quit the party as soon as the (Lok Sabha) polls are declared," Malik said.
He noted that NDA constituents such as the Shiv Sena and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party are openly speaking against the BJP.
"Even (Yoga guru) Baba Ramdev, who had backed Narendra Modi in 2014 polls, is not certain (if Modi would be prime minister again)," he added.
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