Estranged Munde cousins share dais in family seat of Beed

Pankaja (44) and Dhananjay (48) are the daughter and nephew, respectively, of the late Gopinath Munde, who was one of the tallest OBC leaders of the state.

Mumbai: In a significant development in Maharashtra politics, the Munde cousins - Pankaja Munde and Dhananjay Munde - shared the dais at a grand public function after several months, indicating a truce ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls.

The estranged cousins shared the stage at a ‘Shasan Aplya Dari’ (government at your doorstep) event at Parli in Beed district, presided over by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in the presence of the two Deputy Chief Ministers, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

The event was held at Parli, the bastion of the Munde family, nurtured by late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, a former Deputy Chief Minister, and ex-Union minister.

Pankaja (44) and Dhananjay (48) are the daughter and nephew, respectively, of the late Munde, who was one of the tallest OBC leaders of the state.

Dhananjay is the son of the late Pandit Anna Munde, the brother of Gopinath Munde.

Gopinath Munde was the brother-in-law of the late BJP stalwart and strategist Pramod Mahajan.

Pankaja’s sister Dr Pritam Munde is the two-time MP from Beed.

In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, Dhananjay (NCP) defeated Pankaja (BJP) from the family seat of Parli.

Pankaja was the Rural Development Minister in the Fadnavis-headed BJP-Shiv Sena government from 2014-19. She is currently the national secretary of the BJP.

Dhananjay was the Leader of the Opposition in the Council and later became the Minister for Social Justice and Special Assistance in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. He is now the Agriculture Minister in the Shinde-headed Maha Yuti government and the guardian minister of Beed.

“Today, Dhananjay and Pankaja both are here... we all are committed to the development of Parli, Beed, Marathwada, and Maharashtra,” Shinde said.

“Today, we have both Dhananjay and Pankaja on one stage...I request both of you to be together and strengthen the three of us,” Fadnavis said.

Before the event, the trio of Shinde, Fadnavis, and Pawar, accompanied by the Munde cousins, visited Gopinath Gad and paid tributes to the late Gopinath Munde.

They also offered prayers at the Parli Vaijnath Jyotirlinga temple.