Has late Gopinath Munde's daughter rattled Maharashtra BJP leaders?

Happy supporting her so far state BJP leaders have suddenly started perceiving late Gopinath Mundersquos daughter Pankaja as a threat This volteface apparently stems from her announcement last week of embarking on a lsquoSangharsh Yatrarsquo which will see her touring the whole of MaharashtraState BJP leaders feel that if Pankajarsquos yatra is successful her stature will rival that of state party president Devendra Fadnavis and other such senior leaders File picThe Sangharsh Yatra is synonymous with Gopinath Munde who before the BJPShiv Sena formed the government in 1995 embarked on a similar tour which catapulted him ahead of several top state leaders and resulted in him being picked as the deputy chief ministerMany toplevel state leaders from the current crop feel Pankaja who has dropped her marital surname Palwe and uses only Munde now is trying to repeat her late fatherrsquos masterstroke They have thus not given their assent to the yatra so farPeople close to Pankaja said that the yatra will begin from Vidarbha and cover all the important places in the state before coming to a close in Pune Leaders claim that if the tour is successful it would raise Pankajarsquos stature to a level equal to state president Devendra Fadnavis leader of opposition in the legislative council Vinod Tawde and othersA state leader said ldquoShe already has a sympathy wave in her favour if permission for the yatra is given she will rise in the popularity stakes too This isnrsquot going down well with toplevel state leaders who are CM and deputy CM aspirants as Pankaja will also be in the fray if our party forms the governmentrdquoPolitical heirWhat is going in Pankajarsquos favour is that immediately after her fatherrsquos demise she was unofficially declared Mundersquos political heir ldquoAn example was set when she a woman performed her fatherrsquos last rites That sent out the message loud and clear that she would be taking the Munde legacy forwardAnd then exactly a month after her father passed away she addressed party leaders and gave an emotional speech during the state executive meeting The party high command bypassed seniors and promoted her to the core committee and at a function while toplevel leaders were sitting off the stage she was given a front row seat on the daisrdquo the leader addedThe core committee comprises the state president the immediate past president leader of oppositions in the assembly and council and Pankaja Munde Post Mundersquos death it was said that Fadnavis was the one who was advising her but things seem to have changed nowWith Pankaja categorically denying that she would contest the bypoll for the Beed Lok Sabha constituency which her father represented she has given out a clear signal that she will be playing an active role in state politics ldquoIf she goes to Delhi she will be a mere MP but if she stays back in the state her future is brightrdquo added the leaderNobody in the BJP is ready to talk about this issue on the record right now because none of them want to be seen as being part of the wrong camp BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhyay who was Gopinath Mundersquos close aide also refused to comment midday tried calling Pankaja but she remained unavailableMeanwhile the two names that are doing the rounds for the Beed Lok Sabha bypoll are Pradnya Munde Gopinath Mundersquos wife and Dr T P Lahane dean of J J Hospital who belongs to the same community as Munde and hails from Beed