Who was BJP's Maharashtra star Gopinath Munde? All you need to know

Gopinath Munde, with five terms as MLA in the Maharashtra legislature and in his second term as the MP from Beed, Maharashtra, was one of Maharashtra’s most prominent Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. The former Maharashtra deputy chief minister was recently sworn in as Union Minister for Rural Development in the Narendra Modi government. Along with Nitin Gadkari, he was the seniormost BJP leader in Maharashtra and was set to take charge of the BJP’s most aggressive ever campaign for the Assembly elections coming up later this year. A measure of his clout in the party is reflected in the inclusion of his long-time supporter Raosahab Danve , also from the Marathwada region, in the new council of ministers. [caption id=“attachment_1554081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BJP leader Gopinath Munde passed away this morning. PTI[/caption] Munde, a major OBC leader of the Vanjari caste, entered politics almost by accident after he met the late Pramod Mahajan in college. Munde was later associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and later with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Known for his flair for complex political strategy as much as for his mass following among the Vanjari community, Munde was one of the few leaders capable of taking on NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Congress. It was also to Munde’s sole credit that the BJP in Maharashtra transformed from a largely upper caste party to one with a base among OBCs and other castes. Hailing from Parli in Beed district, Munde went to college in Ambejogai, Mahajan’s hometown, where he was a part of the students’ movement and student elections, though he never contested a student poll himself. Mahajan and Munde became close friends and colleagues, with Munde going on to marry Mahajan’s sister Pradnya. Munde’s eldest daughter Pankaja, now an MLA, is most likely to be handed charge of his political legacy. She more or less ran his campaign in Beed this election, while the senior Munde travelled across the state and other parts of the country cmapaigning for BJP candidates. He has two other daughters, Pritam and Yashashri. A five-time MLA and two-term MP, Munde had never lost an election in the state. He also served as Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha from 1991 to 1995 before going on to serve as deputy chief minister under Sena chief minister Manojhar Joshi from 1995 to 1999. In recent years, he fell out with brother Panditanna and the latter’s son Dhananjay, whose political career was largely nurtured by Munde. Dhananjay has now switched to the NCP.