Maharashtra: No constituency left for me after three-party govt formed, says Pankaja Munde

Pankaja Munde. File Pic

BJP national secretary and former state Member of Legislative Assemble (MLA) Pankaja Munde on Monday said that there is no constituency left for her in Maharashtra after the formation of the three-party alliance government. Munde was speaking to the media during the 'Gaon Chalo Abhiyan'.

As per PTI report, Munde said her name is discussed whenever any election is announced and people think she is waiting for a position, and it is obvious that people take my name. "As the three-party government has been formed in Maharashtra, there is no constituency left for me. So such talks happen," said Pankaja Munde

Pankaja Munde, daughter of late veteran BJP leader Gopinath Munde, was the minister in earlier BJP led government in Maharashtra. However, Pankaja lost the 2019 poll from Parli assembly seat in Beed- her bastion- to her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde. Dhananjay Munde now is a minister in the current three-party (BJP- Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction and NCP Ajit Pawar faction) in the state.

According to PTI report, Pankaja was asked whether she would like to fight for Lok Sabha polls or a Rajya Sabha seat, Pankaja Munde said it is too late to choose it. She said what matters now is what her supporters in Beed and other parts of the state think and where they want to see her. "If they see me at that position, it will be a big thing," she said.

There have been talks that Pankaja Munde would join Shiv Sena, however, she has never expressed openly or confirmed her exiting the BJP. Since 2019, Pankaja has been distanced from the BJP top brass.

In her annual Dussera rally in 2023, Pankaja had slammed the current government saying, 'characterless politicians' would be outvoted by the people in the 2024 elections. "I will work to defeat those who are not competent to take the state forward, who are characterless and who make use of money power," she had said.

Pankaja Munde who voices for Other Backward Classes (OBC), during her Dussera rally also also said, "The State is facing many serious problems today. The Marathas are demanding reservation. The OBC community is looking at the state government with great expectations. The people have lost the capacity to face disappointment now".

(With PTI inputs)