Stage set for Munde, Gadkari showdown?

As an upset Gopinath Munde meets senior BJP leaders in Delhi to air his grouse today, members of party's state unit admit they will find it difficult to manage without their crowd puller and most well-known OBC face

Stage set for Munde, Gadkari showdown?

Soon after Nitin Gadkari took over as BJP's Maharashtra unit chief in 2004, the late Pramod Mahajan's portrait in the conference hall of the party's state headquarters was replaced with one of him with the message first nation, second party and then I.

The BJP is currently witnessing another showdown between its party chief Nitin Gadkari and senior party leader Gopinath Munde

It was an indication that the days of an individual dominating the party were over and, since then, the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit has been simmering with discontent, which has remained largely invisible because of the silence maintained by senior leaders.

But, soon after Pramod Mahajan's exit, his brother-in-law and senior leader Gopinath Munde began feeling more alienated in the party by the day and he was being likened to a volcano waiting to erupt.

And erupt he did. When the party announced that Madhu Chavan would take over as the Mumbai BJP chief in 2008, Munde quit all party posts to express his anger.

He was appeased only after Chavan's appointment was cancelled and Gopal Shetty took over.

The BJP is currently witnessing another showdown between Munde and Gadkari, but things aren't exactly the same. Gadkari is the party's national president and Munde is sulking over the appointment of Vikas Mathkari as the party's Pune city unit chief, instead of his supporter Yogesh Gogawale.

High-octane
High drama has been visible in the party's state unit since, with Munde skipping the rallies of the new alliance between the Shiv Sena-BJP and the Ramdas Athawale-led RPI.

And, when the BJP's central unit showed unwillingness to pay any heed to his absence, Munde, who is the party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, put on a show of strength by calling his supporters to Mumbai.

The strongest signal of Munde's displeasure with the party high command was, however, sent when he began having meetings with his friends and well-wishers from rival parties such as the Congress and NCP.

Munde's two meetings with Sena executive chief Uddhav Thackeray and his reported demand to announce him as the next candidate for the Chief Ministerial post have only added fuel to the fire.

All eyes will be on Delhi today, where the story is expected to see its climax when Munde meets senior leaders from the BJP to air his grouse. It is noteworthy that no prominent BJP leader has met Munde so far, except for the Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse.

In the present political scenario, the BJP has no other choice but to align with the Sena and RPI as an internal study done by the party states that the Raj Thackeray-led MNS has made inroads into its vote bank of young voters. The Sena-BJP alliance has suffered in 62 Assembly constituencies due to MNS' presence.

Now, the BJP, which is the main opposition party in the state legislature, is riddled with internal differences with two factions one aligned with Gadkari and the other with Munde fighting for control over the state unit.

While Gadkari was successful in appointing his man, Sudhir Mungantiwar, as the state unit chief, Munde has been trying hard to establish his control over state affairs.

Even as Munde supporters blame Gadkari for the state unit's present state of affairs, the opposing faction says that it was only due to Gadkari's efforts that 19 party MLAs could get elected from Vidarbha.

They also point out that the party has only two MLAs from Munde's stronghold, Marathwada, with one of them being his daughter Pankaja.

Nowhere to go?
If Munde has any plans to join the Congress, he must look at what has happened with Narayan Rane, who was promised Chief Ministership, say BJP leaders. And, in case Munde has NCP in mind, it is a known fact that he will not get along with Ajit Pawar, who is not even on talking terms with him.

"But still, Munde is a mass leader and the party's most well-known OBC face. We cannot ignore the sizable vote bank of OBCs in the state and Munde's charisma and appeal with them, which makes him a crowd puller. He probably knows Maharashtra better than anybody in the party," said a senior leader.

"In its fight with the Congress and the NCP, BJP needs leaders like Munde. At the same time, we need to dissolve our internal differences and join hands with the Sena and RPI to assure the party workers that we can win the next elections," he added.

All set
Meanwhile, Munde told media persons yesterday that he had decided to attend a meeting in Delhi to discuss his fate. He made it clear that he had no plans to join ally Shiv Sena and split the saffron alliance.

"I will decide my future political course after Saturday's meeting. Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray met me twice.
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In the four-hour discussions, Thackeray never invited me to join the Sena and I did not express such a desire either. I will not seek any post like the Maharashtra in-charge from the leadership," he said.