Pankaja Munde pacifies supporters, says time not right to quit

Pankaja Munde’s supporters gathered in large numbers outside her Worli office on Tuesday seeking to protest against the party decision. Pankaja, however, told them that it was not the right time to quit the party and blamed her “detractors” in the state for trying to sideline her.

Upset over her sister and Parliamentarian from Beed Pritam Munde Khade not getting a ministerial berth in the Cabinet expansion carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, national Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secretary Pankaja Munde on Tuesday told her supporters in Maharashtra that it was not the time to fight a “Dharmayuddha” (war fought over principles) and a decision in that regard would be taken at an appropriate time. She added that she was upset with the party’s state leadership and had full faith in the Central leadership.

Pankaja Munde also hinted that many in the state unit were upset with the state BJP leadership and were in touch with her. (HT Photo/Representative)

“Time is the solution to everything. This is not the time to take any extreme decision. Why should we leave our own house which has been built with our hard work. We will see if the roof comes crumbling down on us in the future,” she said.

Pankaja is daughter of late Gopinath Munde, considered one of BJP’s most influential Other Backward Caste (OBC) leaders, who helped build the party in Maharashtra. After her father’s death, Pankaja has been fighting to retain his legacy in state politics. Over the last few days, more than 75 of her supporters offered to quit from local bodies of Beed and Ahmednagar in protest against MP Pritam Munde’s exclusion from the Cabinet. It is widely believed that Rajya Sabha MP Bhagwat Karad was instead inducted in the Union ministry to promote a new OBC leadership by passing Pankaja Munde’s family’s claim.

Pankaja Munde’s supporters gathered in large numbers outside her Worli office on Tuesday seeking to protest against the party decision. Pankaja, however, told them that it was not the right time to quit the party and blamed her “detractors” in the state for trying to sideline her.

Munde said that she was marginalised for saying that people, in their minds, considered her the chief minister, but what about those dreaming to become the prime minister.

“I never said that I wanted to become the CM, it was the wish expressed by the people. Some say that I was deliberately pushed to the walls for talking about the post. But what about the people who say that they want to become the prime minister? They keep talking about the posts and ministerial berth I got, but conveniently forget about what was snatched away from me,” she said.

Munde, who was accompanied with her family members on the stage, also hinted that many leaders in the state unit of the party were upset with the leadership at the state and were in touch with her. “Even the lieutenants of Kauravas in Mahabharat were not with them emotionally. They were with the Pandavas,” she said in a wielded attack on leader of the opposition Devendra Fadnavis.

Munde said that she has full faith in the party’s Central leadership and they will never let her down.

“Prime minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and party’s national president JP Nadda are our leaders and I have full faith in them. They have treated me with full respect. In our meeting with the Central leadership on Monday, I told Naddaji about the discontent among the party workers. He has shown full faith that I will convince you to calm down. This is a short pause in our political journey,” she said.

Political analyst Hemant Desai said the incident was a show of strength by Pankaja Munde. “Though BJP’s central leadership never gives in to the pressure tactics, it may take a different stand in Pankaja’s case as she is a OBC face and enjoys following in Marathwada. She can dent the BJP if she decides to walk out.”