Munde's Delhi dreams take wing
Gopinath Munde, former deputy chief minister and a veteran BJP leader, is all set to step into Pamod Mahajan’s shoes.
By TNN |
NAGPUR: Gopinath Munde, former deputy chief minister and a veteran BJP leader, is all set to step into Pamod Mahajan’s shoes. “Now, I should look for a bigger canvas,” he told ET when asked about his plans to take a plunge into national politics, leaving Maharashtra to Messrs Nitin Gadkari and others.
Mr Munde was a confidant of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. His association didn’t stop at party level: He is married to Mahajan’s sister Pradnya. Since Mahajan’s death in May this year, it’s lonely at the top for the man from Marathwada in Maharashtra politics. There was a time when the Mahajan-Munde team ran the BJP with an iron grip.
Unlike his brother-in-law, Mr Munde is a man of masses and instantly strikes a chord with people. Always surrounded by innumerable workers, Mr Munde has always time for workers. “The party needs someone like him in Delhi,” a BJP worker said. Another said it’s high time leaders like Munde from different states took centre-stage. “Our party is getting full of geriatrics. Many of them are in the Rajya Sabha. We need some one in the Lok Sabha,” he remarked.
According to party insiders, the strategy to send Mr Munde to Delhi has received the RSS nod. The move is also aimed at giving an opportunity and time to local leaders to grow. “When you have someone of the stature of Munde, it’s difficult to groom second-rung at the state level,” a BJP leader explained.
Mr Munde represents the Beed constituency from Marathwada. The region has a battery of leaders like the Union home minister Shivraj Patil, former chief minister Shivajirao Nilangekar and the state industry minister Ashok Chavan who practically command no mass base. The only exception, however, is chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who comes from Latur, adjacent to Munde’s Beed.
Sources in the BJP indicated that Mr Munde’s entry in national politics would be much earlier than expected. “Rajnath Singh, who was re-elected as the party president, would soon reconstitute his working group. Mr Munde is likely to find a place in it,” he predicted.
Mr Munde was a confidant of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. His association didn’t stop at party level: He is married to Mahajan’s sister Pradnya. Since Mahajan’s death in May this year, it’s lonely at the top for the man from Marathwada in Maharashtra politics. There was a time when the Mahajan-Munde team ran the BJP with an iron grip.
Unlike his brother-in-law, Mr Munde is a man of masses and instantly strikes a chord with people. Always surrounded by innumerable workers, Mr Munde has always time for workers. “The party needs someone like him in Delhi,” a BJP worker said. Another said it’s high time leaders like Munde from different states took centre-stage. “Our party is getting full of geriatrics. Many of them are in the Rajya Sabha. We need some one in the Lok Sabha,” he remarked.
According to party insiders, the strategy to send Mr Munde to Delhi has received the RSS nod. The move is also aimed at giving an opportunity and time to local leaders to grow. “When you have someone of the stature of Munde, it’s difficult to groom second-rung at the state level,” a BJP leader explained.
Mr Munde represents the Beed constituency from Marathwada. The region has a battery of leaders like the Union home minister Shivraj Patil, former chief minister Shivajirao Nilangekar and the state industry minister Ashok Chavan who practically command no mass base. The only exception, however, is chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who comes from Latur, adjacent to Munde’s Beed.
Sources in the BJP indicated that Mr Munde’s entry in national politics would be much earlier than expected. “Rajnath Singh, who was re-elected as the party president, would soon reconstitute his working group. Mr Munde is likely to find a place in it,” he predicted.
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