Gopinath Munde:Prominent OBC leader's sad demise

Munde, who was the Deputy Leader of Opposition in 15th Lok Sabha, won this time despite NCP chief Sharad Pawar making the Beed seat a prestige issue. With Munde being a known detractor of Pawar in state politics, Pawar launched his poll campaign from Beed in favour of NCP nominee Suresh Dhus whose challenged collapsed despite Munde's nephew Dhananjay being his campaign manager. A five time MLA, Munde's heart has always been in the state politics and harbours the ambition of becoming first BJP Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for five terms during 1980-1985 and 1990-2009.