Beed election results: Pankaja Munde lags behind in early trends
Updated: Jun 4th, 2024
BJP's Pankaja Munde is lagging behind Mukesh Dhangar of INDIA.
The BJP nominee and NCP(SP) candidate were locked in a direct fight in Beed constituency from Marathwada region.
Against the backdrop of the agitation demanding Maratha reservation spearheaded by Manoj Jarange-Patil, this time the election became less about national issues and more about caste politics.
There were a total of 41 candidates in the fray but the contest was mainly between Pankaja and Bajrang Sonawane.
The BJP dropped the sitting MP Pritam Munde and replaced her with her elder sister and former state minister Pankaja who has a following in the Vanjani community and the OBCs in general.
This was the BJP’s attempt to make up for a possible loss of Maratha votes.
The BJP hoped to weather all odds and consolidate its strength in Beed banking on ‘Modi’s guarantee’ and the Mahayuti Government’s move to provide 10% reservation to the Maratha community and aid the OBCs and minorities.
Jyoti Mete, widow of late pro-Maratha quota leader and the founder of Shiv Sangram, Vinay Mete, also decided to extend support to Sonawane.
In addition, several pro-Maratha reservation outfits were at the forefront to work for Bajrang Sonawane who posed a serious challenge to Pankaja and made it a Maratha Vs OBC fight.
Dynamics of Beed parliamentary constituency
Beed, which was traditionally a Congress bastion, later became the BJP’s stronghold after former union minister Gopinath Munde took the party to the grass roots by reaching out to communities other than Brahmins and Marathas.
In the constituency there are about 7.25 lakh Marathas; of the OBCs 3 lakh are Vanjaris and 2 lakh are Malis, 2.50 lakh belong to the Backward Classes, 1.10 lakh are Banjaras and there are 3.25 lakh Muslims.
The Muslims supported Bajrang Sonawane mainly to oppose the BJP in the state and at the national level.
After the Maratha quota protests, there has been a polarisation of the Maratha votes, resulting in strong resentment against the ruling Mahayuti mainly in Gevrai, Beed, and Majalgaon Assembly constituencies.
(With inputs from syndicated feed)
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