The isolation of Pankaja Munde and what lies ahead

The action against Pankaja’s Vaidyanath Sugar Cooperative Mill in Parli in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra began nearly six months ago. But the crackdown came at a time when she was asserting herself through Shiv Shakti Yatra — a political pilgrimage across 10 districts that began on September 4. The BJP has distanced itself from the Yatra with none of the state leaders participating or extending support.

The BJP refusing to come to Pankaja’s defence is a sign of her isolation within the organisation, say party insiders.

However, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule underplayed the developments. “All this is part of the administrative process. The GST Commissionerate serves notice to all sugar mills that it thinks have dues. But once it is cleared or the exact status is explained, the matter is put to rest,” he said, adding that equating the action on sugar mills to politics was uncalled for and factually incorrect.

With the developments allowing them to expose the cracks within the BJP, the Opposition – the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) – has rallied around Pankaja to express their solidarity.

NCP president Sharad Pawar seen with Pankaja Munde. (Express Archive)

“It is a classic example of how the BJP ill-treated its loyal party leaders. They have given more importance to new entrants from outside parties,” said NCP MP Supriya Sule, in an obvious dig at BJP’s Operation Lotus that led to a split in the Shiv Sena and the NCP.

“The BJP is ill-treating Pankaja Munde. It is evident,” former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP said.

State Congress president Nana Patole also questioned the BJP’s ‘treatment’ of Pankaja. “It was the late Gopinath Munde who built the party and now, this is how BJP is treating his daughter who has been loyal to the organisation,” Patole said.

Unfazed by the Opposition attack, top BJP leaders in Maharashtra have asked party members not to respond. “Pankaja Munde is a national secretary. The central leadership is monitoring her politics and conduct closely. If they feel she is wrong, they will intervene. The GST action was not in our domain,” a senior BJP minister said, requesting anonymity.

Pankaja’s followers believe that she is being sidelined and singled out and that the action against the sugar mill was taken to dent her public image. Those defending the BJP argue that her outspokenness has hurt her politically.

“With Madhya Pradesh elections ahead, Pankaja should have dedicated her entire time and energies to work for the party in MP. Instead, she is touring Maharashtra. After all, she is the national secretary co-in-charge of Madhya Pradesh,” a party source pointed out.

“When you are part of the central BJP team which is being closely watched by PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, you cannot deviate from assigned roles. She should have kept her ambitions on the home front in abeyance for a while and consolidated her position at the Centre,” a source added.

Attempts by Pankaja’s well-wishers to get her back into state politics have also proven futile. A senior BJP leader tried to plead her case with the Centre but was reportedly categorically told to concentrate on his own assignment. (Express Archive)

BJP insiders also recalled Pankaja’s remarks at a public gathering at Ambejogai in Beed district last year on the occasion of PM Modi’s birthday. “If I live in the heart and mind of people, nobody can finish me politically. PM Narendra Modi wants to end dynasty rule prevalent in Congress. Even I come from a political family. But if I live in people’s minds, even PM Modi cannot finish my political career,” she had said.

A state general secretary had then observed, “She has the habit of saying something which becomes a talking point and leaves the party embarrassed. When she talks to her supporters, she is, at times, unmindful of the Laxman Rekha. But to her followers, she is always right.”

The eldest of Gopinath Munde’s three daughters, Pankaja stepped into electoral politics in 2009 and contested from the Parli Assembly constituency in Beed district. She won the seat but it created a rift within the family as her cousin Dhananjay Munde (now in NCP) was also vying for the seat.

In 2014, Pankaja was re-elected from the Parli seat. The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government led by then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was in power in Maharashtra and Pankaja had two important portfolios, rural development and women and child welfare.

Having earned the ‘rebel’ tag within the BJP, Pankaja’s followers believe she has been wronged by the party, which has denied her a bigger role in Maharashtra. (Express Archive)

Her tenure as a minister was not controversy-free though. Pankaja was accused of violating norms while issuing tenders for the purchase of the chikki (a sweet made of jaggery and ground nuts) that was procured under the Integrated Child Development Scheme that came under the women and child welfare department she headed. While Pankaja denied the charge, Fadnavis defended her. Later, the Anti-Corruption Bureau gave her a clean chit.

Having earned the ‘rebel’ tag within the BJP, Pankaja’s followers believe she has been wronged by the party, which has denied her a bigger role in Maharashtra.

In 2019, she lost the Assembly seat from Parli to her cousin Dhananjay Munde. Her hopes were further dashed as the party did not appoint her as MLC in the state Legislative Council.

In 2020, she was made BJP national secretary and co-in-charge of Madhya Pradesh.

In 2021, when PM Modi carried out a Cabinet reshuffle, Pankaja was upset when her sister, MP Pritam Munde Khade, was not considered for a minister’s post. The induction of Bhagwat Karad, who hails from Aurangabad in the state’s Marathwada region, as minister of state for finance reportedly upset the Munde sisters. The central leadership’s move was seen as a ploy to clip Pankaja’s wings, a charge the state BJP leaders have denied.

Attempts by Pankaja’s well-wishers to get her back into state politics have also proven futile. A senior BJP leader tried to plead her case with the Centre but was reportedly categorically told to concentrate on his own assignment.

Party insiders say that with the BJP refusing to step up to Pankaja’s defence, the message is clear: take it or leave it.