Pankaja Munde trailing behind NCP's Dhananjay Munde by 30,701 votes from Parli constituency

• One of the 14 women candidates fielding from Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, Pankaja Munde loses to her cousin Dhananjay Munde of Nationalist Congress Party from the Parli constituency in Beed district.
• She defeated Dhananjay Panditrao Munde of opposing Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2014 elections by a margin of 25,895 votes.
  
• In 2016, Pankaja was accused in ‘Chikki scam’ for violating rules for procuring goods worth ₹206 crore, but was given a clean chit later.

One of the 14 women candidates fielding from Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, Pankaja Munde is trailing behind her cousin Dhananjay Munde of Nationalist Congress Party from the Parli constituency in Beed district. Dhananjay is leading by 30,701 votes.

She faced a tough fight against Zaydatta Kshirsagar from Shiv Sena and her cousin Dhananjay Panditrao Munde.

Honoured with ‘Powerful Politician’ award in 2017, Pankaja was expected to win the Parli assembly seat in Beed district, according to exit polls by Republic TV.

She defeated her cousin in 2014 elections by a margin of 25,895 votes. That accounts for 13.24% of the total votes in Parli. The two cousins — Pankaja and Dhananjay — have been in talks over their political rivalry. An FIR was filed against Dhananjay for passing offensive remarks against Pankaja in an election rally.

A businesswoman in the sugar factory sector and Maharashtra’s Minister of Rural Development, Women and Child Welfare, Pankaja was aggressively involved in election campaigns — attending almost five rallies a day.

In 2016, Pankaja was accused in ‘Chikki scam’ for violating rules for procuring goods worth ₹206 crore. Pankaja refuted the allegations against her and dismissed demands of resignation. The Maharashtra AntiCorruption Bureau (ACB), however, gave her a clean chit.

Pankaja Munde has had a family history in Indian politics. She is the daughter of BJP’s Gopinath Munde — who was a five-time MLA in Maharashtra and popularly called as ‘Lokneta.’ In the 2014 elections, Gopinath won in Beed district and also took up a union minister position. However, as fate would have wanted it, he died of a heart attack while in a car within a week of taking charge.

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