Munde faces Oppn attack, friendly fire

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- SHAILESH GAIKWAD

As the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed snowballed into a major issue, it was assumed that opposition parties would go all out against Dhanjay Munde. Surprisingly, however, the NCP minister is being attacked by his allies as well. Because of local political enmity, BJP legislator Suresh Dhas and NCP MLA Prakash Solanke (both from Beed) have been vociferous in their criticism of Munde.

The Shiv Sena too has been targeting him, with minister Uday Samant and MLA Sanjay Gaikwad demanding a probe into the Beed episode. Abhimanyu Pawar, BJP MLA from Latur district, too spoke at Saturday's rally, which was organised to seek the arrest of Munde's close aide Walmik Karad and the minister's removal from the cabinet.

Munde is a key aide of Ajit Pawar and also shares cordial relations with top BJP leaders in the state. The attack from within the alliance is seen as an indication that Munde's Mahayuti allies too want him out of the cabinet, as the government is facing much flak over Beed.