Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, BJP leader Pankaja Munde reached out to the people of Dalit and Other Backward Class (OBC) community and promised to take cognizance of any problems they face. Munde was addressing the annual Dussehra rally at Savargaon Ghat in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, which was the center of the movement led by Maratha activist Manoj Jarange. Munde had to face defeat in his stronghold Beed district in the Lok Sabha elections held this year. Savargaon Ghat is the birthplace of Saint Bhagwan Baba of Vanjari community of Munde.
State agriculture minister and Munde’s cousin Dhananjay Munde and Laxman Hek, who has been protesting against the possibility of weakening OBC reservation, also addressed the rally. Munde expressed concern over the growing caste divide in the society. He said, if a vehicle hits someone, people ask the caste of the driver. People want to know the caste of the person who brutalized and killed a little girl. We do not want such a society. The BJP national secretary warned that she would take cognizance of it if the poor, Dalits, OBCs and other people in the state were troubled.
Munde said he has inherited the legacy of his father and late BJP leader Gopinath Munde. He thanked the people for respecting him despite his electoral failure. She said, I will visit the state to repay the honor I have received. The poor people are waiting for better days while maintaining their faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now we must reveal our strategy. He also appealed to the workers of his area associated with the sugar industry not to go to work before casting their votes. The sugarcane harvesting season in Maharashtra starts in October. Elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly are likely to be held in November.
