In a huge shock for the Bharatiya Janata Party, its Beed strongwoman and minister Pankaja Munde – for whom both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had campaigned – has conceded defeat from Parli Assembly seat at the hands of her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde.
The result of the Parli seat has not been declared yet, but Pankaja was trailing behind Dhananjay Munde by almost 30,000 votes.
Pankaja is the daughter of the late Union Minister Gopinath Munde and sister of sitting Beed MP Pritam Munde and had contested from the family stronghold of Beed in Marathwada.
A weeping Pankaja declared before mediapersons that she "respected the people's verdict" and assured to continue working for them with renewed vigour.
“I worked for the constituency. Though I was in the government, my struggle for my constituency and people continued. I take responsibility of this defeat,”Pankaja Munde
She also appealed to the party activists and supporters to maintain calm and promised to do soul-searching on her debacle.
(With Inputs from IANS & PTI)
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