Munde faces Opp attack and friendly fire too

After sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, NCP minister Dhanjay Munde faces backlash from allies and opposition, hinting at internal political strife.

As the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed snowballed into a major issue, it was assumed that the opposition parties would go all out against Dhanjay Munde. Surprisingly, however, the NCP minister is being attacked by his allies as well. Because of local political enmity, BJP legislator Suresh Dhas and NCP MLA Prakash Solanke (both from Beed district) have been vociferous in their criticism of Munde.

NCP's Dhananjay Munde . (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The Shiv Sena too has been targeting him, with Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant and MLA Sanjay Gaikwad demanding a probe into the Beed episode. Abhimanyu Pawar, the BJP MLA from neighbouring Latur district, too spoke at Saturday’s rally, which was organised to seek the arrest of Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad and the minister’s removal from the cabinet.

Munde is a key aide of Ajit Pawar and also shares cordial relations with top BJP leaders in the state. There were tales in the BJP and NCP about how he was getting help from within the BJP camp when he targeted his cousin Pankaja Munde as an opposition leader in the legislative council and later when he defeated her in the 2019 assembly elections. The attack from within the alliance is seen as an indication that Munde’s Mahayuti allies too want him out of the cabinet, as the government is facing much flak over Beed.

Scores settled?

Ajit Pawar’s decision to drop Chhagan Bhujbal from the cabinet dominated the discussions in Maharashtra’s political circles until Beed happened. Many are also wondering whether Ajit settled an old score with Bhujbal, who beat him to the deputy chief ministership on two occasions in the past. In 2008, when R R Patil had to step down following the 26/11 terror attack, Ajit was keen on the deputy CM’s post but it went to Bhujbal. A year later, after the Congress-NCP returned to power and incumbent chief minister Ashok Chavan became the CM again, Bhujbal too sought re-appointment as deputy CM. However, Ajit then threw his hat in the ring. In a meeting of the newly elected MLAs, there was much drama, as several MLAs demanded that Ajit be made the deputy CM. Party chief Sharad Pawar, however, ruled in favour of Bhujbal. Things have changed now, as Bhujbal has been dropped from the cabinet. This is the first time that the NCP is in power and Bhujbal is not the centre of any controversy, yet not part of the cabinet.

The rise of Sunil Tatkare

Bhujbal’s outburst after he was dropped from the cabinet did not evoke the expected reaction from the party leadership. Initially, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and the party top brass did not react to his angry barbs. Later, Ajit remarked that the ruling side had 237 out of 288 MLAs so it wouldn’t have to care about an individual MLA being unhappy.

Significantly, the downward graph in Bhujbal’s clout coincides with the growing clout of another OBC leader in the party, state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare. The Raigad MP has not just emerged as Ajit’s most trusted aide but also seems to be influencing several party decisions. According to party insiders, Ajit is relying on him to give inputs on various issues related to the party. It is an interesting coincidence that Tatkare’s graph in the party is rising when two prominent OBC leaders, Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde, are in trouble.

Few takers for state Cong prez post

While the Congress leadership is looking to revive the party unit in Maharashtra after the party’s crushing defeat in the assembly elections, most of the relatively young leaders on its radar are not very keen to take the responsibility. The reason? First, the party is in bad shape and will require a lot of work. Then there are no rewards as the next Lok Sabha and assembly elections are five years away. “There is no point in toiling for the party in rebuilding the organisation at this juncture,” said one of the probables for the post. “It is difficult to continue in the state Congress president’s post for five years due to infighting. Even if one does the good work of rebuilding the party, there is no guarantee that one will be rewarded if the party comes to power.” If none of the Young Turks step forward, the leadership may pick a senior leader for the job, say insiders.

Kesarkar’s ambition

Former minister and Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar is furious about not getting a ministerial berth again. He was minister in the MVA and Mahayuti government and was vocal in his defence of Eknath Shinde when the latter split the Shiv Sena in 2022. However, he was dropped when the cabinet was formed. An angry Kesarkar said that “some people in the party” (read party colleagues in his Konkan region) spoiled his case. “I feel sorry for them. I will get a bigger position than a minister’s,” he announced. A Sena minister said that Kesarkar could be eying the governor’s post that the BJP could give to the Sena but he would have to wait in the queue. In 2022, Shinde had promised the post to two former MPs, Anand Adsul and Gajanan Kirtikar. They are yet to get anything.