Lok Sabha Elections 2024: From Maratha quota protests to Dhangar reservation, here are key issues in Maharashtra's Beed
Maratha quota protest, reservation for the Dhangar community, and slow progress of the Beed-Ahmednagar railway line, which have cropped up in the past one year, are seen swaying the electorate. Voting in Beed is scheduled on May 13. Last year, an intense agitation for Maratha quota in jobs and education took place in Maharashtra's central district.
The protest turned violent and houses of some political leaders came under attack. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded former state minister Pankaja Munde from Beed against Bajrang Sonawane of the NCP (Sharad Pawar) in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Pankaja Munde is the third member of the Munde family to contest from Beed in the last 15 years.
In 2009, her father Gopinath Munde won the seat and in 2014, her younger sister Pritam Munde won by-election after their father's demise, and then retained the seat in the 2019 polls. “The Maratha quota agitation and nearly 200 offences registered during the period are a big issue in this election," senior journalist Datta Deshmukh told newswire PTI. “Another issue is why Pritam Munde was replaced when she had won twice from the seat with good margins.
The lack of industry and jobs and the Dhangar community's demand for reservation too are important issues," Datta said. "Pankaja Munde has a strong team down to the booth level as she also has her cousin (state agriculture minister) Dhananjay Munde on her side. But she is facing a disgruntled Maratha community with its pending demand of reservation," he added.
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