Leader of the opposition in the state legislative council Vinod Tawde's support of Pankaja Munde's candidature for the first woman chief minister may be arising out of the fact that he has been sidelined within the party.
The rivalry between senior BJP leaders for the CM's post is an open secret. Leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly Eknath Khadse threw his hat into the race last week, pitching for a CM from north Maharashtra.
The BJP has other contenders for the post in Union minister Nitin Gadkari and former state unit president Sudhir Mungantiwar who haven't expressed their mind on this issue in public.
Tawde, while addressing party workers during Pankaja Munde's Sangharsh Yatra, reportedly supported Munde for the top post. When contacted, Tawde said, "My speech is available on the Youtube and I did not say that Pankaja is slated to become CM after the 2014 assembly polls. At present, there are other contenders including me, Devendra, Nathabhau (Eknath Khadse) and others."
Tawde had praised the way Pankaja handled the situation after Gopinath Munde's demise and appreciated her leadership. He said, "What I meant was she can become the first woman chief minister of the state when the time is right.'
Party insiders are looking at state unit president Devendra Fadnavis as the most competent candidate for the top most post since he is leading the party while approaching elections.
Even though Tawde has not expressed his wishes, he is considered as one of the competitors for the top post. That is the reason his open support to Pankaja Munde is being looked as a move by him to create a debate whether it would be Fadnavis or Munde so that he can have an advantage. A senior leader said, "Politics is all about ambitions and who does not want to become Chief Minister? Why would one show such magnanimity to support another leader for the post when his or her name is in the race?"
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