India, March 5 -- The welcome resignation of Maharashtra's food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde is useful to understand the fault lines that run deep in the state's politics. Beed has been the stronghold of the Munde family: From the late Gopinath Munde to his daughters Pankaja and Pritam, and his nephew Dhananjay Munde, the family has represented Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the region for nearly three decades. Recently, Beed had emerged as the epicentre of conflict between Marathas and the OBCs (other backward classes) represented by the Munde family, who are from the Vanjari community.

In addition, Beed has seen a boom in wind energy projects recently with over 300 companies setting up shop. In a desperatel...