Maratha leader’s wife withdraws from the fray in Beed constituency

MUMBAI: Jyoti Mete, wife of late Maratha leader Vinayak Mete, on Saturday announced her withdrawal from the Beed Lok Sabha constituency election. The decision seems to have been taken to avoid a split in Maratha votes.
BJP has fielded senior leader Pankaja Munde in Beed in place of her younger sister and sitting MP Preetam Munde. The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has fielded Bajrang Sonawane. Like all other constituencies in central Maharashtra, Beed too is witnessing tension between Maratha and Other Backward Classes (OBC) voters, given the backdrop of the recent agitation for Maratha reservation that aimed to cut in on the OBC quota. Beed also witnessed violence, with houses of OBC leaders being set on fire by miscreants.
Pankaja Munde has positioned herself as the leader of the OBCs in the state. As such, OBC groups are rallying around her while Maratha outfits are campaigning against her. Significantly, NCP (SP) candidate Sonawane is a Maratha.
Against this background, Jyoti Mete’s candidature was being opposed by some Maratha outfits, who thought it would split the Maratha votes. Her husband Vinayak Mete, who died in a car accident, was a prominent leader in the Maratha reservation agitation. Mete helmed an outfit called Shivsangram, which Jyoti is now heading.
Speaking to mediapersons, Mete said she was withdrawing from the fray in the larger interest of the people. “My outfit will hold a meeting to decide which party should be supported at the state level,” she said.