Pankaja Munde in New Delhi, expected to raise ‘discontent over Pritam snub’ with BJP leadership

BJP’s Pankaja Munde on Sunday went to Delhi to attend a meeting of all national secretaries called by party president J P Nadda amid reports of discontent over her sister Pritam Munde Khade being overlooked during the expansion of the Union council of ministers last week. She is expected to apprise Nadda of the political development in Maharashtra’s Beed district which has seen the resignation of 49 Munde followers from various local bodies in the last two days.

Rajya Sabha MP Bhagwat Karad got the nod over two-term MP Pritam Munde as Minister of State in the reshuffle triggering the discord in the party. Pankaja Munde will hold a meeting with office-bearers from Beed, her home district, at her Worli office in Mumbai on Tuesday.

There is a feeling that strengthening Karad amounts to undermining the leadership of the Mundes in the Marathwada region. Both Munde and Karad represent the Vanjara community which comes under OBC category.

Though Munde has maintained she was not unhappy with the snub, party insiders pointed out that the sisters did not tweet or put out any congratulatory message to the new ministers. It was also pointed out that 49 members could not resign without the knowledge of Munde who has not made any public appeal asking them to refrain from doing so.

Following the resignations, Pankaja Munde told the media on Friday: “We share a very cordial bond with our supporters. It is a long-lasting relationship not based on power or post. They are hurt as Pritam Munde Khade did not make it to the Union cabinet.”

Earlier Friday, while maintaining that she was not upset with the party leadership for not including her sister in the government, she said, “In the BJP, you cannot say ‘me, me’. It is ‘we, we’… Team Narendra, Team Devendra are not acceptable to the BJP. The party believes in collective work.”

Meanwhile, On Saturday, in the wake of the resignation of Munde supporters, another group in Beed was celebrating Narayan Rane’s induction into the cabinet.