The battle of the Mundes

The political tide in Marathwada particularly in Beed could turn in Pankaja Mundersquos favour provided the BJP leader is willing to regain lost political ground Whether Pankaja grabs the opportunity with both hands or lets it slip remains to be seen in the coming daysEspecially with local body elections scheduled sometime in the next few months and with the state having over half of its population belonging to the Other Backward Classes OBC veteran leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal the Munde cousins Pankaja and Dhananjay and other politicians from the community who wield significant clout among voters will be in the spotlightThe chances of Dhananjay returning as lsquomantrirsquo at least in this government seem bleak with Bhujbal replacing the former This year in March in a fallout of the Massajog sarpanch murder in Beed Dhananjay resigned from the ministerial post However while doing so the Ajit Pawarled Nationalist Congress Party NCP leader claimed to have stepped down on moral groundsAfter his resignation Dhananjay has been lying low and avoiding public appearances With him losing the lsquolal battirsquo and post of Beedrsquos guardian minister his clout has not only weakened but created a leadership vacuum in the strong Vanjari community in the district and Marathwadaregion as wellNow with cousin Dhananjay sidelined there seems to be no better time and opportunity for Pankaja to make a comeback mdash if not for lsquobadlarsquo certainly to regain her lost political clout and dominance in the region especially with elections around the cornerAfter BJPrsquos Gopinath Munde passed his daughter Pankaja was seen as his heir In fact she bore a resemblance not just in name but in style too gradually developing a strong bond with OBC voters especially those from the Vanjari community She quickly carved out space as a prominent OBC and BJP leaderBut Pankajarsquos rising graph started a downward trend thanks to Dhananjay Like many other political dynasties in India the Munde family too was divided over inheritance not of property but of power The family feud hit such a peak that Dhananjay once the blueeyed boy of NCP leader Ajit Pawar not only challenged Pankajarsquos legacy in the region but significantly eroded it and started emerging as an OBC leader especially for the Vanjari community As her cousinrsquos career graph rose Pankajarsquos magic faded and the situation reached such a head that she was unable to retain even her seat in the 2024 Assembly pollsWith Bhujbal the voice of the OBC not finding a space in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisrsquo cabinet Dhananjay was made minister and was seenas an emerging leader of the community In fact for Dhananjay the sky was the limit Also despite Bhujbal having good clout among OBCs he does not command the same emotional connect in Marathwadarsquos Vanjaridominated pockets as the Munde name evokesDhananjay who was groomed under his uncle the late Gopinath Munde joined the NCP undivided in 2012 Munde Sr had in 2009 nominated Pankaja to contest from the Parli Assembly constituency So Mundersquos nephew aligned with the Sharad Pawarled party and because of his oratorical skills and grassroots connections Dhanajay witnessed a meteoric rise mdash such that he defeated Pankaja in the 2019 Assembly polls in his unclersquos bastion Parli However a murder in Beed district seems to have dimmed the rising starrsquos brilliance even though he claims to have no direct connection to the caseEarlier this month the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to conduct the longpending civic polls as soon as possible This means that all 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra along with 248 nagar parishads 42 nagar panchayats 332 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis will go to the polls at least by the yearend The OBCs could sway the poll results owing to their large electorate numbersOne should not forget that last year the Mahayutirsquos Lok Sabha performance was lsquopoorrsquo probably due to the Maratha and OBC reservation conflict and the narrative of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA comprising the Congress Sharad Pawarled NCP and Shiv Sena UBT during campaigning that the BJP was out to change the Constitution if it came to powerBut the situation took a 180degree turn almost six months later during the Assembly election largely because the Mahayuti had managed to secure a significant vote share from the OBC community particularly in regions like Marathwada and VidarbhaIn politics like in chess one move can change the entire game Earlier it was Dhananjay who almost bulldozed Pankaja but with recent developments it is the latter who now has to decide whether to maintain cordial relations with the former or focus on her political career and go all in aggressively immediatelyPankaja can make use of the current political opportunity and fill the void of the OBC leader in the region If she successfully does so in no time will the political pendulum in Marathwada mdash particularly in her home turf Beed where her father Gopinath Mundersquos legacy still holds emotional and electoral significance mdash swing and help the BJP leader reclaim lost ground But if she fails to do so it would be like missing a free hit on the political playground on her home turf a chance she might never get againOr will Dhananjay be able to put the ignominy behind him and return to his original form during the polls leaving no room for Pankaja to fill the vacuum created by his recent absenceSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevScribeSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paperatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params