Dhananjay Munde: From asset to liability for NCP

MUMBAI: Senior NCP leader Dhananjay Panditrao Munde is facing the heat as leaders from the opposition as well as ruling parties are making a series of allegations against him, for his close aide’s alleged involvement in the murder of a sarpanch in Beed.

The 49-year-old was initially groomed by his uncle, former deputy chief minister and BJP leader late Gopinath Munde. During Munde’s tenure as state deputy chief minister, Dhananjay had kicked up controversies over his high-handedness in Beed, which he used to look after. Following the rise of Gopinath Munde’s daughter Pankaja as his heir apparent, an irked Dhananjay started looking for options beyond his uncle.

He was encouraged to stand up to his uncle by a few top leaders in Maharashtra BJP who wanted to keep Munde under control. As he felt that his uncle would not allow him to grow within the party, Dhanajay joined NCP. Keen to build a strong non-Maratha leadership in Marathwada, both Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit encouraged Dhanajay. They made him a member of legislative council and later leader of the Opposition in the upper house after the Congress-NCP lost power in 2014. During this tenure, Dhananjay steadily grew as a politician. He managed to take political control of Munde’s Parli constituency and won assembly elections in 2019 by defeating Pankaja and in 2024 opposite an NCP (SP) candidate.

He also soon earned the trust of Ajit and became his close aide. After the 2019 assembly election, when Ajit first made the attempt to split NCP, it was Dhananjay who was working the phone to get MLAs on their side. In 2023, when Ajit finally managed to split the NCP, Dhananjay played a key role.

He, however, has a penchant for controversies. During his tenure as agriculture minister in the Mahayuti government, he drew flak for forcing the transfer of agriculture secretary who refused certain plans of his department, citing a loss for the exchequer. In 2021, a singer Renu Sharma accused him of rape but later withdrew her complaint. In this episode, Dhananjay confessed that he was in a relation with Renu’s sister Karuna and they have children together.

Back home in Beed, he managed to establish his control. He has been a minister in three successive governments (MVA, Mahayuti and Mahayuti 2.0) and guardian minister of Beed.

Opposition leaders as well as elected representatives in Beed allege that Dhananjay’s bid to control the district politically has led to the current turmoil in the district. There have been allegations of grabbing land and properties, cornering all government contracts, extortion and murders against certain groups. Walmik Karad, a former head of Parli municipal council and a close aide of Dhananjay is accused of being a mastermind behind the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. On Saturday, thousands of political workers and other people came out on the streets of Beed demanding arrest of Karad and sacking of Munde as a minister.

Dhanajay’s boss and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar as well as chief minister Devendra Fadnavis are increasingly finding it difficult to defend him as elected representatives from all parties including BJP and NCP are gunning for his head.

Pawar is aware of the impact the current controversy is having on his and his party’s image. There is also a strong Maratha undertone in the case as Deshmukh was Maratha and Karad-Munde come from Vanjari caste in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. During Manoj Jarange Patil-led agitation for Maratha quota, Beed saw a bitter tussle between Maratha and Vanjari communities.

According to NCP insiders, Pawar has not asked Dhananjay to step down but he is not stopping NCP leaders from Beed such as MLA Prakash Solanke from attacking the latter. The next few days could decide whether Dhananjay Munde manages to save his chair or is asked to take a step back, in the interest of his party and the Mahayuti government.