LS electoral fight morphs into Maratha-Vanjari communal conflict in Beed

A Munde supporter said that angry people from the Maratha community had not allowed Pankaja Munde to enter at least 10 villages

MUMBAI: The political fight between Bajrang Sonawane, the NCP (Sharad Pawar) Maratha candidate, and the BJP’s Pankaja Munde, who belongs to the Vanjari caste, has turned into a bitter caste conflict in Beed district. The clash has allegedly led to the Vanjari community in Mundewadi village in Kej tehsil passing a resolution to enforce a socio-economic boycott of the Maratha community.

Beed witnessed multiple rallies by Marathas seeking reservation in jobs and education ahead of the Lok Sabha poll. (Praful Gangurde/ Hindustan Times)

After a video of the boycott spread on social media, Beed’s superintendent of police Nandkumar Thakur went to the village on Monday and held a meeting to bring the situation under control and restore communal harmony.

Nandurghat in Kej is a Maratha-dominated town with a big market for nearby villages. On May 15, there was stone-pelting between the two communities over an abusive social media post targeting Munde. After the incident, a meeting was held in the Vanjari-dominated Mundewadi village, in which a person made an appeal to boycott the Maratha community. “No one will buy anything from shops owned by Marathas and no one will take any kind of service from the Maratha community,” he said. “If someone from the Vanjari community does so, he will be fined ₹5,000.”

After his meeting with the villagers, SP Nandkumar Thakur told the media that the video was more than 10 days old, and there were no signs of hatred between the two communities. “There is a big misunderstanding about the boycott,” he said. “The village is dominated by the Vanjari community and only one percent of residents are Marathas. The sarpanch is a Maratha. It shows that there is no communal hatred in the village.”

Thakur claimed that the video was about some shop owners in Nandurghat. “Mundewadi residents discussed the issue and decided not to go to those shop owners as they misbehaved with the residents of their village,” he said. “It was not about the Maratha community. In that meeting, only one person made an appeal to boycott the Maratha community. It was not the resolution of the village. But as the video could harm social harmony, we have initiated action in the matter.”

Santosh Hange from Nandurghat, who is a former zilla parishad member from the Vanjari community, said that the conflict between the two communities was the result of politics. “On May 15, there was stone-pelting at Nandurghat due to the social media post targeting Pankaja Munde,” he said. “The police intervened in time. Later, a mob beat up an ex-servicemen and his wife from the Vanjari community. As a reaction to that incident and anger over the campaign against Munde during the elections, the people in Mundewadi held a meeting on May 17. In that meeting, someone made an appeal to boycott the Maratha community. It was a reaction to the bitterness that was spread during the Lok Sabha elections.”

A Munde supporter said that angry people from the Maratha community had not allowed Pankaja Munde to enter at least 10 villages. “Besides, the Maratha community organised a mass oath in various villages and expressed their commitment to NCP (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane who belongs to the Maratha community,” he added. “The videos of that oath were posted on social media to polarise Beed. This was clear-cut casteism. So a reaction was bound to occur. They (Marathas) are getting back what they sowed during the elections.”

Sonwane said that some people were trying to disturb the harmony in Mundewadi. “I know the people of Mundewadi very well,” he said. “The village is not communal. The district administration and police should take stringent action against those trying to create trouble there.”