Unhappy Munde seeks removal of Gadkari's men in Maharashtra

“He is not fully satisfied with the assurances given by the party,” sources close to Munde told Deccan Herald.

Senior leaders including L K Advani, Gadkari , Sushma Swaraj and state-in-charge M Venkaiah Naidu, here tried to pacify the OBC leader but the deliberations remained “inconclusive,” according to sources.

Munde is miffed after his aide Yogesh Gogawale was sidelined for the post of Pune BJP president to make way for Gadkari loyalist Vikas Mathkari. He is also keen on the appointment of his loyalist in place of Mungantiwar as the state BJP chief.

The ‘rebellion’ by senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde has  brought to the fore a long-standing fault-line between him and Gadkari.

Munde has been nursing deep resentment against Gadkari for appointing his own men in key posts in Maharashtra— a home state for both leaders. The OBC strongman’s threat to quit the party has, though, not come as a surprise as he has made similar demands in the past with the party pacifying him with the post of deputy leader in the Lok Sabha. Munde had held a ‘different’ view from the party on the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament by seeking separate OBC sub-quota in the Bill. The dissident BJP leader has also demanded a separate OBC count in the census.

Senior BJP leaders here do  not discount Munde “keeping in touch” with the Congress leaders, particularly Vilasrao Deshmukh.