In what may prove to be a setback for senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, his estranged nephew and the ruling NCP nominee Dhananjay Munde will have a smooth sailing in the politically crucial Maharashtra legislative Council bypolls, scheduled for Monday.
Dhananjay, who resigned as a BJP MlC and joined the NCP on July 2, is seeking re-election to the Upper House of Maharashtra legislature, as the ruling DF nominee from the electoral college of the 288-member State Assembly. In the normal course, Dhananjay’s term as the BJP MlC would have ended in July 7, 2016. However, he resigned as the member of the State Council, after he was promised nomination to contest the by-polls as an NCP candidate, by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Dhananjay is taking on Prithviraj Kakade, son of veteran politician from western Maharashtra and a long-time detractor of Sharad Pawar, in the by-polls, as an independent. Ajitdada, as Ajit Pawar is known in the State political circles, exploited the rift in the senior BJP leader’s family and wooed Dhanjay and his father Pandurang Anna to the NCP fold — a fact that has prompted Gopinath to rally the entire Opposition behind Kakade in the Council bypolls.
The Congress and NCP, the ruling Democratic Front (DF) partners, have strengths of 82 and 62 respectively in the member State Assembly. Apart from their combined strength of 144 members in the 288-member House, the ruling DF partners enjoy the support of another 15 Independent MlAs. On the Opposition side, the BJP, has the maximum strength of 46 in the lower House, followed by Shiv Sena 44 and MNS 12. Besides, Kakade can bank on the support of a dozen Independents and MlAs belonging to smaller parties. But, the numbers will in no way tilt the scales in favour of Kakade.
In fact, what has added to Kakade’s worries is the speculation in the state political circles that the Raj Thackeray-led MNS may abstain from voting — a prospect that will bring down the Independent nominee’s numbers further. Dhananjay’s re-election to the State Council — this time round as the ruling NCP nominee — will contribute further to the erosion of Gopinath’s clout in his home district of Beed in Marathwada. What has lent power to Dhananjay in Beed district is his proximity to Ajitdada.