Scam allegations: Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde's troubled trajectory from 'proximity' to 'liability'

Dhananjay Munde hails from Parli in the Beed district and is the nephew of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde.

While Maharashtra’s Mahayuti government struggles with internal discontent, the accusations against one of its ministers, Dhananjay Munde, have added insult to injury. Munde has a history of being in the news, albeit mostly for the wrong reasons. While he is in the hot water for his proximity to a murder suspect, allegations of corruption have made his position fragile in Devendra Fadnavis’s cabinet. A series of controversies has marred his political career. The question being discussed in Maharashtra’s political circles is whether Munde has become a liability for the Mahayuti government and whether he can continue as a minister.

Dhananjay Munde hails from Parli in the Beed district and is the nephew of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde. As an NCP candidate, he has won the last two elections from the Parli Vidhan Sabha seat. Presently, he holds the food, civil supplies, and consumer protection portfolios. In Eknath Shinde's government, he was the agriculture minister, whereas, during Uddhav Thackeray's chief ministership, he held the social justice ministry. Munde enjoys close proximity to both CM Fadnavis and his party chief, Ajit Pawar.

The latest trouble for Dhananjay Munde comes in the form of the alleged "Urea Scam," where politician-turned-social-activist Anjali Damania has leveled serious charges against him. Damania has accused Munde of severe financial irregularities during his tenure as agriculture minister in the previous Shinde government. According to her, Munde flouted rules by not following the Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) system to provide financial assistance to eligible farmers and instead allowed his department to directly purchase certain goods at highly inflated prices.

Damania alleged that while a 500 ml bottle of nano urea was available at Rs 92 per bottle, the agriculture department issued tenders to procure the same at Rs 220 per bottle, purchasing a total of 19,68,408 bottles. Similarly, other products were also procured at inflated prices, according to her. She presented certain documents in a press conference to substantiate her claims.

Before the urea scam allegations, Munde was already in hot water over his proximity to local strongman Valmiki Karad. Munde and Karad were often seen together at public events. Karad, who had several criminal cases registered against him, was recently arrested in an extortion case involving a windmill owner. The extortion case is allegedly linked to the murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district. The accused arrested in the murder case are said to be Karad's associates.

Munde was embroiled in a scandal four years ago as well. In 2021, the Sharma sisters from Indore had leveled serious charges against him. The younger sister, a singer, alleged that Munde raped her. She withdrew the charge later. The elder sister, a model, claimed to be his second wife. She stated that they had been in a relationship since 2003 and had children from the marriage. Alleging that Munde was not allowing her to meet the children, she filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police. Munde dismissed the accusations as a ploy to blackmail him for extortion. However, the allegations led to a huge political uproar, nearly costing him his ministerial position.

Munde has refuted Damania's allegations and announced plans to file a defamation case against her. However, pressure is mounting on Ajit Pawar to remove him as a minister, as the series of allegations is tarnishing the reputation of the Fadnavis government and undermining its claims of good governance.