Why Devendra Fadnavis’s call for a ‘new Beed’ another blow for Dhananjay Munde

Beed is in the politically crucial Marathwada region that was the epicentre of reservation politics before the elections and has seen much polarisation that appears to be extending beyond polls. Munde is an OBC (Other Backward Class) leader and following his aide’s arrest there have been calls for his arrest from Marathas, including quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil.

Taking cognisance of this polarisation, Fadnavis has also spoken of a “new Beed” where individuals would “rise above caste, community and religious polarisation”, with development helping bridge the socio-economic and political divide that currently exists. For the Mahayuti government, Munde’s proximity to the accused in the case and his personal life have become such big talking points that it has brought unwanted attention.

On Thursday, a court in Bandra, Mumbai, ordered Munde to pay interim maintenance of Rs 2 lakh to Karuna Sharma and her daughter. The order was a follow-up in a case filed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. While Munde has denied any relationship with Sharma, she has claimed she married Munde in 1998 and that, eventually, Munde left her and married again.

The BJP leadership, facing pressure to sack Munde from the government, has officially left Munde’s fate to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. However, the party appears to have adopted a two-pronged strategy to deal with the situation. First, while keeping a safe distance from the developments in Beed, it has deployed Dhas to keep the pressure on Munde and the NCP. Dhas has launched a scathing attack on the minister and even joined an Opposition delegation at the Raj Bhavan to demand Munde’s resignation.

The party did not pull up Dhas over this. Instead, on Wednesday, Fadnavis generously praised him, calling the four-time Ashti MLA the “modern-day Bhagirath who had developed his constituency”. He was speaking after laying the foundation for a tunnel in Ashti. “If Dhas takes up any issue he relentlessly pursues till its logical end,” he added.

The decision to put Dhas forward is part of a strategy to soften the blow from Marathas over the sarpanch’s murder. A section of the community had drifted away from the BJP over Jarange Patil’s quota agitation and empowering Dhas provides the party with a face for its outreach to Marathas.

The BJP’s second move is to project Pankaja Munde, Dhananjay’s cousin, to consolidate its position among the Vanjari OBC community to which the Mundes belong. The differences between the cousins had led to a divide in the community, with Pankaja losing the 2019 Assembly polls against Dhananjay, then the candidate of the undivided NCP. In 2023, when the NCP joined the Mahayuti, the Munde cousins set aside their differences and since then have maintained a cordial relationship.

Though Pankaja lost the Lok Sabha polls last year, which was attributed to the Maratha anger against the BJP, she landed on her feet as she was sent to the Legislative Council and after the Assembly polls joined the Fadnavis Cabinet.

However, Pankaja has been treading cautiously on the troubles confronting her cousin even though she has not defended him publicly yet. “I was the first person who urged the CM to constitute an SIT to probe the sarpanch’s killing and take strict action against all those guilty,” she has said.

“In Pankaja Munde, the party sees a potential leader who can hold OBCs together, at least in Beed. At the said time it has to strike a balance by giving Dhas the centre stage in the district to win over angry Marathas. If Marathas and OBCs learn to co-exist as in the past, Jarange-Patil’s agitation will also take a backseat. Frequent agitations, with thousands taking to the streets on the issue of reservation, do not auger well for the state government, which has already committed 10% separate quote to the Maratha community,” said a senior BJP functionary.

The NCP, however, is not willing to make a move against Munde unless anything is conclusively proved in the sarpanch case. “Unless there is direct evidence to show Munde’s role in the sarpanch killing how can the party take action?” asked an NCP leader. “His close aide has been arrested. Let the law take its course.”