Mumbai: State Congress president Balasaheb Thorat said on Sunday that he would welcome BJP leader Eknath Khadse into the Congress. Mr Thorat also praised the disgruntled BJP leader for having worked hard to increase the saffron party’s footprint across the state, and expressed his disappointment over Mr Khadse’s neglect in the party.

While speaking to the media, Mr Thorat said, “It is unfortunate that Mr Khadse was ill treated in the BJP. He worked hard and kept patience to reach a senior position in the party. He contributed a lot to increase the footprint of BJP.”

The disgruntled BJP leader had on Wednesday met Pankaja Munde, who is also said to be unhappy with the party for not allegedly sidelining her after her defeat in the recent elections. However, she dismissed reports of her quitting the party and reiterated that she is a loyal party worker.

On Wednesday, after meeting Ms Munde, Mr Khadse had said, “Pankaja and I are of the opinion that some BJP leaders tried to defeat her and Rohini (Mr Khadse’s daughter). I have informed the state BJP unit chief Chandrakant Patil about it.”

“People gave the mandate to Mahayuti. If we would have gone two steps backwards, we could have formed government,” he had added while taunting former CM Devendra Fadnavis over his statement that he would return as the CM. “If leaders claim credit for winning, then they should also take the responsibility for defeat,” he had said.

Meanwhile, speaking on the Cabinet expansion, Mr Thorat said that talks were going on and a decision on the allocation of portfolios may be taken on Monday. He also wished that Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan — both former chief ministers — would contribute more to the state but added that the final decision would be taken by the party high command.