In the latest battle of the ongoing political war within the Munde household, estranged nephew and ruling NCP-Congress nominee Dhananjay Munde on Monday scored a victory over his uncle and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde by winning the crucial Maharashtra legislative Council bypoll comfortably.
In a bypoll that went on expected lines, Dhananjay - who was seeking re-election to the State legislative Council after resigning as the BJP MlC and joining the NCP on July 2 - polled 165 votes, while his Opposition-backed Prithviraj Kakade secured 106 votes.
In a 288-member electoral college of the Maharashtra Assembly, 272 members cast their votes, while the Raj Thackeray-led MNS with 12 members on its rolls, and two other legislators abstained from voting. Despite losing the poll, the principal Opposition party, BJP ( supported by its ally Shiv Sena) claimed that it had cut into the ruling alliance vote bank and weaned away the support of anywhere between “10 to 14” DF-supporting legislators.
Fresh from his electoral win, Dhananjay — who enjoys the staunch support of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar — said that while he desired to contest the 2014 Assembly poll against his cousin and Munde’s daughter Pankaja Munde-Palve, a sitting BJP MlA from Parli Assembly constituency, he was also prepared to take on his uncle in next lok Sabha poll, if his party asked him to do.
“I am keen to contest the Assembly poll from Parli (a seat held by Pankaja Munde). If my party wants me to contest for the Assembly poll from Parli, I am more than willing to do so. And, if the NCP leadership asks me to contest the lok Sabha poll from Beed (a seat currently held by BJP’s Gopinath Munde), I am ready to do so,” a confident Dhananjay said.
In a swift reaction to estranged nephew Dhananjay’s re-election to the State Council, uncle Munde said: “I see the Council bypoll outcome as a major jolt for the ruling Democratic Front (DF). The DF may have won the poll by sheer numbers, but it is a moral defeat of the ruling front — a front that practises divisive politics, that indulges in horse-trading and a front that drives wedge in the political families”.
When his attention was drawn to his nephew Dhananjay’s statement announcing readiness to contest against him in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, a dismissive Sr Munde said: “Why only my own nephewIJ If the NCP chief Sharad Pawar decides to field his nephew Ajit Pawar against me, I am ready to take him on as well in the 2014 lok Sabha poll”.
“I had all along maintained that numbers were not our side and we were fighting bypoll in a non-conducive atmosphere. Despite all this we lent our full support to the Independent nominee Prithviraj Kakade. The poll results are there for everybody to see. From the poll outcome, you can clearly see that the Sena-BJP alliance vote bank is intact.. In addition, we have been able to get the support of at least 14 MlAs who are part of the DF,” Gopinath said.