NEW DELHI, May 30:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav are likely to share the stage on Saturday at an event to mark the 300th birth anniversary celebrations of Ahilyabai Holkar organised by former BJP ally and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha founder Mahadev Jankar.

  Jankar, a minister in the BJP-led Maharashtra government 2016-19, was overlooked by the BJP in the 2024 assembly elections, prompting him to chart out his own course.

Jankar, who belongs to the Dhangar community, has since been courting the opposition alliance led by the Congress.

He has organised grand celebrations on the occasion of the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, the queen of the Holkar dynasty, which traces its roots in the Dhangar community.

He said Gandhi, Pawar and Yadav have accepted his invitation to address the event to celebrate the Holkar queen’s birth anniversary celebrations in the national capital.

Jankar said he had also extended an invitation to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, but they are yet to confirm their presence for the event.

The Dhangar community has sizeable presence in Maharashtra’s Solapur, Sangli, Baramati, Parbhani, Satara Lok Sabha seats and can influence the results in more than 25-30 assembly seats.

Jankar had contested as the NDA candidate against NCP leader Supriya Sule from Baramati in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and lost by a nearly 70,000-margin.

Jankar was considered close to late Gopinath Munde and later his daughter Pankaja Munde. However, his ties with the BJP soured as the party promoted Dhangar leader Gopinath Padalkar, who was elected MLA in the 2024 assembly elections. (PTI)