Prime Minister Narendra Modi will start his campaign for the October 15 Assembly polls on Saturday with a public rally in Beed, the Lok Sabha constituency which was represented by BJP leader Gopinath Munde till his untimely demise recently. Modi’s decision to begin his campaign from Beed is politically significant and is being seen as an attempt to highlight BJP’s commitment to the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The party is promoting Munde’s daughter Pankaja Munde Palwe to retain its voter base among the “Vanjari” community to which Munde belonged. The community has political significance in parts of Marathwada and north Maharashtra. Addressing a rally at Bhagwangad in Ahmednagar in the same region on Friday, BJP president Amit Shah sought to project Pankaja as a leader who would carry forward the legacy of her father late Gopinath Munde in Maharashtra. “I understand what’s weighing on your mind. BJP leaders will give greater responsibility to Pankaja. I urge you all to unite OBCs as a force under Pankaja’s leadership,” he said. Pankaja, who is contesting from Parli Assembly seat, is facing a fight from estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde of the NCP. Her younger sister Pritam Khade is contesting for the Beed Lok Sabha seat, where bypoll was necessitated due to their father’s demise. At Shah’s rally, Gopinath Munde’s last speech, given shortly after he became a union minister after the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, was replayed to strike an emotional chord with the people.
