'Not leaving BJP, defection not in my blood,' says Pankaja Munde

There were rumours that the leader was likely to quit the party as she had removed 'BJP' from her Twitter bio.

A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde removed the party's name from her Twitter bio, she clarified that she was not leaving the BJP.

Political circles were buzzing since Sunday after she wrote a Facebook post about her "future journey" amid the changing political situations in Maharashtra, where the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena came together to form government.

"I am not leaving the party. Defection is not in my blood," Pankaja told PTI.

On Monday, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil had rejected rumours that Pankaja Munde was planning to part ways with the party.

"There are rumours circulating in media and social media claiming that Pankaja Munde, the daughter of late Gopinath Munde, is planning to leave BJP or do something else. Both she and her father had worked very hard for the people and the party," Patil had said.

Pankaja Munde lost from her family bastion – Parli seat – to NCP's Dhananjay Panditrao Munde by a margin of approximately 30,000 votes in the Assembly elections held in October. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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