The Minister of Maharashtra tendered his resignation on Tuesday amidst the uproar surrounding the Massajog sarpanch murder incident.
In the aftermath of his resignation, Munde expressed that he has consistently called for the harshest possible punishment for the individuals implicated in the Beed sarpanch murder case from the outset.
In a post on X, Munde also indicated that he has resigned from his position as a state minister due to health issues and medical advice “as well”.
“From the very first day, I have firmly demanded that those responsible for the brutal murder of the late Santosh Deshmukh from Massajog in Beed district be dealt with the severest punishment. The photographs that emerged yesterday have caused me considerable anguish,” he stated.
What is the Beed murder case in which he is connected?
Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of a village in Beed district, Maharashtra, was killed on December 9 after reportedly opposing an extortion attempt directed at an energy company installing wind turbines in the area. The alleged perpetrator, Walmik Karad, said to be an aide of Munde, was placed in judicial custody in January.
It is important to note that Munde is not directly implicated in the case.
Who is Dhananjay Munde?
Aged 49, Munde, a close associate of , was originally guided by BJP leader Gopinath Munde. He began his journey as a party worker and rapidly ascended to the role of BJYM president in 2007. A gifted speaker, he managed Gopinath’s political interests in Beed and Parli, earning a reputation as his uncle’s “political heir.”
However, dynamics shifted when Gopinath opted for his daughter Pankaja to contest from Parli in 2009. Subsequently, in 2010, the BJP appointed Dhananjay to the state Legislative Council.
As tensions heightened, Dhananjay made the transition to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2012, following in the footsteps of his father, Panditrao Munde, who had already joined earlier that year. He ran in the 2014 Assembly elections against Pankaja but suffered a defeat by over 25,000 votes. In 2019, he turned the tide, defeating her by more than 30,000 votes.
Following the split within the NCP in 2023, Dhananjay aligned himself with the Ajit Pawar-led faction that is cooperating with the Mahayuti. During the Assembly elections last year, he secured his position in Parli by over 1.4 lakh votes. He is one of the few OBC leaders remaining in the NCP, alongside Chaggan Bhujbal.
