Loksabha 24 – State

The Sangli Puzzle

“Now no Patangrav ( Kadamsaheb) , no RR( Patilsaheb);  in fact, the personalities of late Patangrav Kadam and former home minister late R. R. Patil were the true identity and, of course, the talent (essence)of  Sangli. One often became aware of the immense talents  late Shri Patangrav Kadam has  while conversing with him. Now such talent is rarely seen” –   MP and the articulate spokesman of Shivsena- Udhav Thackeray group  Sanjay Raut while visiting the monument of late Patangrav Kadam in Sangli. He garland  late R R Aba Patil’s statue while in Tasgaon. Let’s see what makes the great orator to sing suddenly the greatness of the leaders of Sangli!

There is too much going on over the Loksabha seat allotment in the traditional strong Congress fort of Sangali in the Mahayuti. The Mahayuti is comprised of an alliance formed between Shivsena- Udhav Thackeray,  National Congress Party- Sharad Pawar,and Congress and other smaller political parties.  

The situation in Sangali is aggravated further with Sanjay Raut arriving specially from Mumbai after the Congress party raised a hue and cry over Shivsena( Udhav Thackeray faction), all of a sudden, formally declaring a candidate – the famous wrestler Chandrahar Patil as a Loksabha seat nominee. Raut has said that Congress has announced its candidate at Ramtek, and they ( Udhav Thackeray Shivsena)didn’t object. Nana Patole retaliated that Sangli isn’t Vidarbha! And, Shivsena had unilaterally declared candidates at Sangli and  Bhivandi also!   All should follow the ethics of political alliance.

The Congress party feels affronted as Sangli is a Congress loyalist area since the legendary late Vasantdada Patil’s times. The Patil family, too, stayed loyal to the party all through the hiccups of the times. Over time, the political center from Sangli saw the rise of  Islampur and Kadegaon as strong centers in the form of Jayantrav Patil and Patangrav Kadam. The overall mood of the district was Congress and NCP favoring only! So Congress considers Sangli as its legacy and is not willing to let go of the seat. The political equations changed with the rise, first of the Shivsena and then the BJP. With a weakened Congress, Shivsena feels it can surge ahead in Sangli, but aware of  its shortcomings and that its win is possible only with the backing of  Congress and  NCP- Sharad Pawar faction.

The Congress and nor the Shivsena are ready to part with the Sangli seat, making it a prestige point. The Congress regional president Nana Patole refused to let it go, and bitter statements  followed. Nana Patole dared in the past to interfere in Islampur politics and strong hold of Jayantrav Patil. His consistent efforts to win over Sangli can’t be ignored. As usual, before all the drama started, Sharad Pawarji didn’t forget to state that Udhav’s Shivsena announced the candidacy without informing any other political party in the alliance. At last, the state Congress says that the issue will be settled in Delhi and will follow what the Delhi high command instructs. Raut has further instigated by directly attacking Congress. He asked the Congress leaders to stop the drama ( Nautanki) and start campaigning for Chandrahar Patil. Narayan Rane said that Sanjay Raut has specially planned the Sangli visit to make Congress bow to the pressure. Sanjay Raut also threatened the Congress party to block it all over the state.

Earlier, Vishal Patil, the scion of  Vasantdada Patil’s family, said that he has given all reins of this tumultuous political situation to Vishwajit Kadam, son of late Patangrav Kadam. “He is the pilot now and let him take this plane wherever he wishes,” he said. Picking up this thread, Raut made a serious oblique reference that care should be taken of this  plane to not go wayward and drift towards Gujarat.( BJP).

Obviously, an unsettled Vishwajit Kadam dared him to name the persons and (will not tolerate such statement). After this exchange, Sanjay Raut visited the monument of late Shri Patangrav Kadam.

The Fight at Shirur

Shirur Loksabha constituency is witnessing another interesting and competitive fight between its incumbent MP Amol Kolhe and the former runner-up  and the three times former MP since the Shirur Loksabha constituency came into existence Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil.

Shivajirav is a Veteran, 67-year-old, experienced politician, a staunch Shivasainik who won the Loksabha elections of 2009 and 2014. In the 2019 elections, he lost to Amol Kolhe. Amol Kolhe, who is also a household name for his charishmatic acting talents and his portrayal of Chchatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in films and plays. A new entrant into politics with fine oratory and ambitious demeanor, he has already proved his mettle by defeating a political giant like Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil in the last election. He has assumed more importance lately when, one by one, the senior and experienced politician in the NCP left the party following Ajitdada. The NCP split into NCP( Sharad Pawar) and NCP (Ajit Pawar). Amol Kolhe can be a star campaigner for what is left of the original NCP under Sharad Pawar. The candidature of Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil follows somewhat on the same lines. The Shivsena split and Patil followed Eknath Shinde Shivsena. But afterward, an alliance of NCP (Ajit Pawar), BJP, and  Shivsena ( Eknath Shinde) saw the Shirur constituency alloted to NCP (Ajit Pawar). So now Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil is fighting this election on NCP (Ajit Pawar) ticket by entering the party. This is one of the star contests in the state.

The Ahmednagar Battle

In Ahmednagar, another interesting contest is shaping up. Nagar, which is a strong fort of Vikhe Patil family with three generations in politics and  ample work with a crop of successful institutes,sugar factories, and co-operatives. Sujay Vikhe Payil is the BJP candidate, while NCP  ( Sharad Pawar) party candidate is Nilesh Lanke. VikhePatil family’s political network is very strong in the district, and they are known to be politically at a crossroads with the NCP founder  Sharad Pawar. The family has adorned different portfolios in the state ministry and carried out the responsibilities with aplomb. The other candidate, Nilesh Lanke’s story, is exactly the opposite. Hailed from a poor farmer family,  he worked for a private company- Kinetic and was sacked. After a stint of unsuccessful tea canteen and grocery shop ventures,  he was spotted by Shivsena Supremo and ushered into  Shivsena. He worked diligently and rose to Taluka Pramukh post. His public relations and his ability to identify with the masses and for ever access to people’s grievances soon made him a name to reckon with in rural politics. His fortunes with Shivsena suffered after the stone pelting incident while the Shivsena President Udhav Thackeray was touring in that region. He was removed unceremoniously, and NCP picked him up. He set up a 1000 bed hospital in the Corona scare and earned tremendous goodwill. He resigned his MLA post after the NCP split and stayed with Sharad Pawar block. It would be interesting to see how he stands up to the might of Vikhe Patil and the BJP.

The old alliance of Shivsena and BJP broke after 2019 Loksabha elections. After that, much water has flown down the bridge. What Maharashtra witnessed was ruthless power play with shameless compromise with principles and party philosphies. The BJP  attacked the politics with surgical precision and bisected ruthlessly using all weapons. The Maharashtra State BJP is hardly BJP, with now nearly 60 percent of its top leadership presenting alliance with the BJP. In a developed state such as Maharashtra, what the common people see and feel is nothing but politics. Accusations, false assertions, claims, clarifications, and cross accusations are rampant with splintered, fractured, and split political parties and crossing over of eager and most of the times ED feared politicians . Leaders of all hues and colors make a beeline to join BJP alliance. The state is already directionless. The status of opposition is in  dire conditions with the only smiling face of Sanjay Raut! There is great mudslinging going on with equally great acumen.

Fadanavis & Rahul Gandhi

Deputy Chief Minister  Devendra Fadanavis minced no words when he invited Rahul Gandhi to watch film on Swatantryaveer Savarkar. He offered to arrange a spacial show only for him. Reacting,  Udhav Thakare also offered to pay all expenses if Fadanavis tour Manipur,  Arunachal Pradesh!

The Past revisited

Sharad Pawar was held guilty of succeeding in splitting late Gopinath Munde’s house while breaking the strong ‘Munde’ grip on the Beed district. This time, his home too suffered from the same, and in Baramati Pawarsaheb’s daughter, Member of Parliament Supriya Sule pitted against Ajitdada’s wife  Sunetra Pawar after the NCP broke into Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar fractions.

Supriya Sule accused BJP of breaking and splitting their powerful house and pitting her against Ajitdada’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, all in a family’s politics! Since  1999, Supriya Sule has been representing Baramayi Loksabha constituency. A shrewd and mature politician now with independent thinking,  She declared that Sunetra Pawar is elder and just like a mother.So, she isn’t going to criticize her personally. Of course, expecting vice-versa.

Prakash Ambedkar

The press conference of Prakash Ambedkar was an eye opener in certain ways. He asked BJP why it needed so many politicians of so many parties! He also opined that politicians of the same thought are vying against each other, making it a futile exercise. The politics of the ‘established’ and that of the  ‘displaced’ both prove to be an obstacle in societal development. There are several issues of the BJP, like the electoral bonds where the Finance Minister’s husband  has also termed it as ‘fraud’, Some drugs, though banned, reentering the markets, Autocratic rule seems to be imminent, the ineffective ‘cancellation of currency (Notbandi) and the OBC  reservation should remain intact which needs to be highlighted in this election.

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