Maharashtra polls: Battle for Parli seat continues to be a family feud

For the second time in a row, Parli constituency in Beed district will witness a direct and bitter contest between the Munde cousins. Late BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s

For the second time in a row, Parli constituency in Beed district will witness a direct and bitter contest between the Munde cousins. Late BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s daughter and state rural development minister, Pankaja Munde (BJP) is contesting for a third term against her cousin brother and leader of Opposition in the Legislative council, Dhananjay Munde (NCP).

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The last time the two contested was in the 2014 Assembly elections when Pankaja had defeated her cousin by 25,895 votes. The contest has grabbed eyeballs, with emotionally-charged speeches made by both candidates. Even the concluding day of the campaign had its share of drama, with Pankaja reportedly calling her brother a “monster”.

A video clip of Dhanajay’s old speech went viral on social media, in which he is allegedly seen making derogatory comments about her. As her campaign drew to an end on Saturday, Pankaja fainted on the dais after her concluding speech and was rushed to hospital by her sister and MP, Pritam. The drama was not reserved for just the concluding day; The entire campaign saw both relatives throwing punches. There have been allegations and counter-allegations about political betrayals and the Munde legacy.

Pankaja appealed to the people to preserve the political legacy of her father, Gopinath Munde, who passed away in June 2014. Munde had chosen Pankaja to be his political heir and fielded her from his Parli constituency for the Assembly elections. It irked his nephew Dhananjay, who used to handle the former’s constituency in his absence. Dhananjay later defected to the NCP and was made leader of the Opposition in the Legislative council. Since then, there has been a bitter tussle between the duo.

At one of his campaign rallies, Dhananjay asked voters: “Who came first in politics, me or my Taisaheb (sister)? Who was betrayed from his natural right, me or Taisaheb? Who can fulfill the dreams of honourable Mundesaheb, me or Taisaheb?”

It is a fight for existence for both Mundes. Pankaja, who is the rural development minister in the state cabinet, is one of the top leaders of the BJP in Maharashtra and is a strong contender in the upcoming elections. Dhananjay, on the other hand, has been unsuccessful in winning the Assembly, council and Lok Sabha polls fought either by him or under his leadership. However, he has successfully won almost all the local body elections in the past five years.

According to Dhananjay, he was promised the seat but later Pankaja was chosen to take Munde’s political legacy forward. He now wants the people of the constituency to decide. “Both the previous elections were won on the sympathy wave, which is missing this election,” he said.

Pankaja, on the other hand, says her cousin has no right to utter his uncle’s name, considering he had ditched them to join the NCP. “He was never assured of a party ticket. He was made a member of the Legislative council by the BJP. I do not wish to speak against him on these issues and he is now merely an NCP candidate for me,” she had said in an interview to HT earlier this week.

“The election is important for both of them. Pankaja has her followers across Beed district among the Wanjari community, and she is battling for victory to keep her position intact. Dhananjay is vying to get elected following his unsuccessful attempt last time. He is a Legislative council member, which is regarded as a backdoor entry into the Legislature. These factors have made the fight very tough,” said Amol Kamble, a political observer who is active in the educational field in Parli.

Observers also feel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah’s rally in Parli may have helped Pankaja in diverting votes. Dhananjay’s poll managers tried to gain the sympathy wave by avoiding campaign rallies with any big leader from Congress and NCP. Despite the political warfare, a section of voters in Parli has questioned if reconciliation between the cousins is possible. “Even if it is possible, I would not discuss it with the media,” said Pankaja.

“I tried in 2014, after Mundesaheb’s death but got no response,” said Dhananjay.