Maha: 3 supporters of Pankaja Munde held for protest near BJP office in Aurangabad

Police on Thursday detained three supporters of former Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde while they were on way to the BJP office here to protest against the party's decision not to nominate her for the upcoming polls to the state Legislative Council, an official said.

They raised slogans in support of Munde while heading towards the BJP office located in Osmanpura area of Aurangabad.

''When they did not stop, we detained them and handed them over to the Vedant Nagar police,'' the official from Osmanpura police station told PTI. An investigation would reveal whether they had any intention to vandalise the party office, he said.

One of the supporters of Munde, while being taken away by police, claimed ''injustice'' was being done to the former minister and that the OBC community will reply to the BJP over this.

The BJP on Wednesday declared five candidates for the upcoming polls to 10 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, but the name of former minister Pankaja Munde, daughter of BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde, did not figure in the list.

Earlier, there were speculations that the party may nominate Pankaja Munde, who had lost to her cousin Dhananjay Munde of NCP in the 2019 state Assembly polls.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday said he and senior party leader Devendra Fadnavis tried for Pankaja Munde's candidature, but ''it seems the Central leadership has some other plans for her”.

In politics, the disappointment of any leader with his party is transitory, Patil said.