Shiv Sena says 'will be happy to welcome Pankaja Munde' on speculation over her BJP exit

Shiv Sena will be happy to welcome Pankaja Munde if the BJP leader chooses to join the ruling party in Maharashtra, the leader from the saffron party Abdul Sattar said on Monday. The invitation to join Shiv Sena comes after the speculations of Pankaja Munde leaving the BJP emerged. 

Speaking to ANI, Sattar said, "On December 12, Pankaja Munde will decide on where she will go next. If she joins Shiv Sena, we will happily welcome her. Late Gopinath ji and Balasaheb ji shared a cordial relationship in the past." In the changing political scenario of Maharashtra, BJP leader and daughter of late BJP bigwig Gopinath Munde, removed the party's name from her twitter bio. Currently, her bio on Twitter reads, "RT's r not endorsements."

Pankaja Munde on Saturday urged her supporters to join a rally scheduled to be held in Beed on December 12, the day also marks as the birth anniversary of her father and former Union Minister. Through an emotional Facebook post, Pankaja said that after her defeat to her cousin, Dhananjay Munde, in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly polls, she had received several calls and messages from her supporters to meet, but could not do so because of the situation in Maharashtra.

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BJP clears air 

Addressing the media on Monday, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil dismissed the reports of party leader Pankaja Munde leaving the party. He blamed this speculation on the advent of the Uddhav Thackeray-led ‘accidental’ government. Revealing that the party was continuously in touch with Munde, he asserted that she would always remain with the party. Patil also mentioned that nothing much should be read into Munde organising a function on the birth anniversary of her father and BJP stalwart leader Gopinath Munde on December 12.  

The BJP state chief said, “For the last two days, one of the most important BJP leader, former minister and daughter of the late Gopinath Munde- Pankaja Munde, there are reports that she might consider other options than BJP. After the advent of the accidental government, such speculations have arisen. Such kind of ideas, such kind of rumours, such kind of news reports are baseless. All of us have talked to Pankaja tai (sister). There is no possibility of a leader like her whose journey commenced from being a part of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, president of state BJP president, two-time MLA to harbour such thoughts. In order that such rumours and such news reports should come to an end, I have come before you as the BJP state president.”  

READ| Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray slams BJP on Hindutva, says 'keeping our word is Shiv Sena's Hindutva'

Considered as a potential rival to former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, she lost in the Parli Assembly Seat to her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde by a margin of approximately 30,000 votes. Pre-poll saffron allies--BJP and Shiv Sena had a fallout after the Maharashtra election result over the 50:50 formula and rotational chief minister position. Eventually, in a turn of events, Shiv Sena ended up forming a government with Congress and NCP in the state and chose Uddhav Thackeray as their leader. 

(With ANI inputs)