Pankaja Munde’s show of strength exposes the fault-lines within Maharashtra BJP into the open

Pune:

While emphatically dismissing speculation of her exiting the party and staging a revolt as mere rumors, former Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde’s show of strength on her home turf of Parli-Vaijanath in Beed district on the occasion of her father late Gopinath Munde’s 70^th birth anniversary on Thursday has further widened the divisions within the Maharashtra BJP.

Pankaja Munde’s ‘Swabhiman’ rally at ‘Gopinathgadh’ (memorial of Gopinath Munde) in the Parli turned into a massive show of strength with Munde and especially  disgruntled senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse squarely training their guns on the party’s State leadership, while launching veiled attacks on former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

“Who said I was to leave the party? Whose expectation is it that I exit the BJP? Who is spreading these canards about me being upset? How can I be accused of staging a revolt when I was the one who was campaigning hard for the victory of every candidate till the last minute? Who is spreading these rumors that I am pressurizing the BJP for any post?” she said, urging BJP State president Chandrakant Patil, who was present on the dais, to take to task those who were attempting to slander her.

In her address, Munde stressed she had “no hankering after any position within the party” and demanded of Patil that she be relieved from her sole position in the BJP core committee as well.

Spelling out her future course of action, Munde said: “I will again re-inaugurate my late father, Gopinath Munde’s office in ‘Sukhada’ in Mumbai on January 26 and will go to the masses and address the problems of farmers and take up issues affecting Marathwada through the Gopinath Munde trust in the capacity of an ordinary party worker.”

“I will not leave the party. I will tour the State and take up problems facing ordinary people after January 26. A mere electoral defeat is nothing compared to my personal loss endured after my father’s untimely death (June 2014),” she said.

Since the conclusion of the Assembly polls, a major schism has emerged within the Maharashtra BJP leadership with the top brass fearing a possible intra-party revolt by its notable OBC leaders led by Eknath Khadse, Munde, former Minister Prakash Mehta and other leaders who were either denied a ticket or suffered upset defeats in the election.

“This (BJP) party does not belong to any single person…even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is but an ordinary worker of the BJP. So, it is our responsibility to see that the party moves forward and not in reverse gear,” Munde said, remarking that she would fight on in the future, come what may.

 “Before December 1, one could only see Sanjay Raut on the television. But since my post, the channels have only been discussing me with all sorts of opinions from so-called ‘sources’ …if these ‘sources’ were indeed that good, then how come they couldn’t figure it out that Devendra Fadnavis would be sworn-in with Ajit Pawar?” said Munde, taking a jibe at the media.

In his speech, Khadse vented his unhappiness on being allegedly slighted by a section of the party and Fadnavis in the past. Khadse reiterated his allegation that Munde’s defeat from Parli, and his daughter Rohini Khadse’s loss from the Muktainagar seat, was “engineered” by sections within the party.  

“There clearly was politics behind not giving a ticket to me…My daughter (Rohini Khadse) did not ask for a ticket, yet they forcefully gave it to her. Thirty years I have been with the late Gopinath Munde. He gave me tremendous respect and used to push me forward,” he said, reminiscing how the late Munde had tolerated his mistakes, had fought for him and encouraged him.

 “Munde never plunged a dagger behind anyone’s back…he was an open-hearted leader who raised an ordinary worker to the heights of power. But today’s BJP leadership is not open-hearted,” he said, remarking that the BJP’s present condition was “not acceptable to the people of Maharashtra”. Without taking Fadnavis’ name, Khadse hit out at the present BJP for not being a party that promoted “collective decision-making”.

“Pankaja may not express it, but I understand her pain. I am hurt that Gopinath Munde’s daughter has lost from Parli…Why is that we (OBC leaders) are feeling stifled? This is tantamount to asking us to leave the party. Now, if I talk too much, the party might take disciplinary action against me…Already, they had cut my ticket (Assembly elections),” he quipped.

Munde’s followers vocally said that the BJP leadership had been unjust to her

All top leaders from Marathwada were present on the occasion as was BJP State president Chandrakant Patil and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha chief and influential Dhangar leader, Mahadev Jankar, known for his affinity with Munde and her family.

However, Fadnavis was conspicuous by his absence. Before the rally, Patil had a closed-door meeting with Munde at which Khadse was also present along with Prakash Mehta.

In his speech, Patil, anxious to dispel undercurrents of discord within the BJP, urged the disaffected leaders not to take out their anger on the party. “Why vent your spleen on the party when a few individuals are responsible for your misfortune. Quarrels within the family ought not to be fought in the streets,” said the BJP state chief. Stating that he understood Khadse’s ‘pain’, Patil assured him that his complaints will be taken cognizance of and that satisfactory answers would be found.