Just weeks after poll results, Beed collector shunted out

Mumbai: A few weeks after the Lok Sabha election results were declared, chief minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday abruptly shifted Beed collector Deepa Mudhol Munde and appointed Avinash Pathak in her place.
Earlier, Pathak was the chief executive officer of the Beed Zilla Parishad.
The transfer order was signed by additional chief secretary Nitin Gadre.No new assignment has been given to Munde. She was appointed collector of Beed district on February 15 last year.
In the run up to the Lok Sabha election, NCP (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane had lodged a complaint against Munde and the local tehsildar with the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Sonawane complained against Munde’s style of functioning and urged the ECI to keep Munde and the tehsildar away from the process of counting of votes.
Further, it was alleged that there was large-scale bogus voting and the role of the administration was partial. In the most crucial election in the state, Sonawane defeated Pankaja Munde of the BJP.
In the recent past, Beed has been the centre of much political activity following an agitation launched by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange. During the entire election period, there was much tension in the entire Marathwada region as a result of Jarange’s agitation.