Pankaja Munde skips core Maharashtra BJP meet, says was busy with Beed rally preparation

Pankaja Munde, who has been holding a public rally every year on the birth anniversary of her father and former Union minister, the late Gopinath Munde, was absent from the division-level meetings of the BJP as well.

Senior BJP leader in Maharashtra, Pankaja Munde, skipped the crucial core committee meeting of the party’s state unit on Tuesday evening. The meeting was attended by former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil and other leaders.

Pankaja Munde did not attend the party’s regional-level meeting held in Aurangabad on Monday either though state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said she was “unwell” and hence could not take part in the meet. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Though BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said she had taken permission from the state party chief for skipping the meeting, the development is being seen as Munde’s way of showing her displeasure with the party.

Munde is in Beed in the Marathwada region, overseeing preparations for a rally planned on December 12 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of her late father Gopinath Munde. She has been organising this rally since the death of her father five years ago.

“She has to prepare for the rally. There are a lot of expectations from her followers. Also, all the big state BJP leaders will attend it. That’s the only reason she did not attend the meeting,” said an aide close to Munde. She did not respond to text messages or calls.

Munde, who lost state assembly polls last month to her cousin and rival Dhananjay Munde, is learnt to be upset with the party. Those close to her say that her electoral defeat has been orchestrated by some within the party.

Munde is expected to speak to her followers at the Beed rally on Thursday. In a Facebook post that sparked a controversy, Munde had said that she would talk about her future path at the rally.

“You have been asking me for my time. And, I will give it to you but after 8-10 days. I need some time with myself. What to do next? What path should I follow now? What can I give my people? What does my strength lie in? What do people expect of me... I will think about all this and come before you on December 12,” she had said in her Facebook post addressed to her followers.

A day later, she had refuted rumours of her quitting the BJP saying she had been hurt that her post had been misinterpreted.

“Rebellion is not in my blood. I am a loyal BJP worker and I’ll never quit,” she had said. Munde had even removed BJP reference from her Twitter bio earlier this month.

Majority of the big BJP leaders are expected to be present at the rally on Thursday.

There is a group within the Maharashtra BJP that had been sidelined and is upset with the party leadership. Among them is Eknath Khadse, former ministers Vinod Tawde, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Prakash Mehta and Raj Purohit who were not given tickets to contest assembly polls last month.

However, no one other than Khadse has made their unhappiness public. Khadse had even met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, but denied he is going to quit the party.

“I am not going to join Shiv Sena... I am not upset with the BJP, I am just upset with two-three leaders of the BJP,” Khadse said after the meeting with Thackeray.