Will not contest Lok Sabha elections from Beed: Munde

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde criticized the party leadership for sidelining her and stated that she will not replace her sister in the Lok Sabha. She also hinted at the possibility of contesting from another constituency.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s national secretary and a prominent OBC leader Pankaja Munde on Tuesday attacked the party leadership for sidelining her and said she would not replace her sister Pritam in the Lok Sabha.

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Addressing her Dussehra rally at Savargaon in Beed district, she said since she was kept away (from the posts) her followers are deprived of benefits.

“I am sorry as you have to suffer because of it. It is time for us to act against the people who have troubled us. My followers are not ordinary; they know how to react and open ‘third eye’ like lord Shiva,” she said and added that it was time for them to look for options.

Munde clarified that she would not contest the Lok Sabha elections in place of her younger sister and sitting MP Pritam Munde. “I am not going to encroach upon anybody’s right. I am told to contest from Beed, in place of Pritam. It is not possible.”

Stating that nobody in the state is happy, she targeted the ruling parties over the drug menace, the apathy of the farmers and the fight between castes and communities over reservation. “There are rumours that I am going to quit the party.”

Munde, daughter of late Gopinath Munde and niece of late Pramod Mahajan, was sidelined in the party after she lost the 2019 assembly poll from Parli in Beed district. Since then, she has been vocal against the state leadership, especially deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.