Replacing Munde: Who will be the NCP's next OBC face?

Pawar's reluctance to dismiss Munde has hurt both NCP and Mahayuti as well as irked OBCs, Marathas

- Shailesh Gaikwad

MUMBAI: Food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde was asked to resign by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday following a closed-door meeting the previous evening with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Munde himself and other senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Although the decision came when pressure on the government became severe after Munde's close aide Walmik Karad was implicated in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, Pawar himself had consistently ignored all demands for Munde's dismissal from the cabinet by his Mahayuti partners and Opposition.

Since the day of the murder — December 9 — several leaders within the NCP (MLA Prakash Solanke was one) as well as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena insisted that Munde step down. But Pawar remained resolute on his stance saying Munde was not found involved in the crime.

Pawar's reluctance to sack Munde Pawar's reluctance stemmed from his proximity with Munde and the fact that he was the only prominent face from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the Mahayuti government.

Munde has been Pawar's close aide for several years — during his failed coup of 2019, only Munde and Sunil Tatkare (currently the party's state president) stood by him. Munde also played a key role in the 2023 split of the party. Pawar had already kept out Chhagan Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, from ministerial portfolios in the Mahayuti 2.0 government.

"That left only Munde as a prominent OBC face in the government — reason why Pawar did not want his dismissal," a senior NCP leader told HT.