Pankaja Munde vs Dhananjay Munde in Parali again

Woman and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde

The estranged Munde cousins would be fighting it out again in Parli Assembly segment in Beed district of Marathwada. Sharad Pawar, chief of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), now on a state-wide campaign tour, has announced the leader of opposition in the upper house Dhananjay Munde as the official candidate from Parali where BJP's Pankaja Munde, rural development and woman & child welfare minister and daughter of late Gopinath Munde, is a sitting legislator. The two were locked in a battle in 2014 too when Dhananjay, Gopinath's nephew, had lost by 2.5 lakh votes.

Dhananjay had quit BJP in 2012 because he was upset over his uncle's promotion of the daughter. He joined the NCP and was made a member of the upper house. Pankaja's younger sister Dr Pritam Munder was elected as the Beed MP after her father's death in 2014. She retained her seat in 2019.

NCP's Dhananjay Munde

Tough fights in Beed

Pawar also announced NCP's other candidates from Beed district. Former NCP leader and now minister (from Shiv Sena) Jaidutta Kshirsagar would be pitted against his nephew Sandip Kshirsagar in an Assembly seat in Beed. Jaidutt switched over to Sena three months ago citing differences with senior NCP leaders.

NCP's first list includes Vijaysinh Pandit (Gevrai), former minister Prakash Solanke (Majalgaon) and Namita Mundada (Kej), daughter-in-law of former NCP minister late Vimal Mundada. Once a stronghold of NCP, the Beed district has now become a hotbed of politics after some NCP leaders jumped the ship.

2.5 lakh
No. of votes by which Pankaja Munde won against Dhananjay in 2014

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