Voters have given befitting reply to Oppn plot to defame Parli and Beed, claims Dhananjay Munde

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dec 21 (PTI) People have demolished the plot of the Opposition to defame Parli and Beed through the results of the local body polls, former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde claimed amid counting of votes on Sunday.

Initial trends showed the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Ajit Pawar's NCP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, ahead comfortably.

"This was a fight against the people who tried to defame Parli," he said in a reference to the area being targeted for "lawlessness" in the backdrop of the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in December last year and the subsequent friction between the Vanjari and Maratha communities.

Talking to reporters, Munde, MLA from Parli, said, "We have managed a big victory. Almost all candidates of our alliance have won. There are 2-3 independents, and they are also of Mahayuti. The Opposition should think about what their position is now. The plot of the Opposition to defame this town has been demolished by Parli voters." People have also given a strong response in Ambajogai, Gevrai, Beed as the Mahayuti has won the local body polls in these places, he claimed.

He also brushed aside queries on whether the good showing in the region will pave the way for his return as minister after quitting the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet in March this year following the arrest of his close aide Walmik Karad in the sarpanch Deshmukh extortion and murder case.

"I don't covet any ministerial post. Working for the people is more important for me," Munde claimed. PTI AW BNM