Turncoats make Maharashtra polls exciting in sugar belt

Turncoats have made the politics in Western Maharashtra, the sugar belt and the area of influence of NCP founder-president Sharad Pawar, interesting.

This is traditional bastion of the Congress and subsequently the Congress-NCP alliance. The Maratha community influence the vast region. Into its 20th year, the NCP has been hit by exodus of sitting and former legislators with many of them walking to the BJP and some to Shiv Sena.

The region spread over six districts and 70-odd Vidhan Sabha seats is faced with several issues like water scarcity, drought, mega floods, and the declining health of sugar factories.

The region will also see Lok Sabha bypoll in Satara, where BJP's Udayanraje Bhosale is taking on NCP's Shrinivas Patil, an ex-two time Karad MP and former Sikkim governor. The elections were necessitated after Udayanraje, the 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj quit NCP to join BJP. Udayanraje's cousin Shivendraraje Bhosale, an NCP MLA, who joined BJP, is seeking re-election from Satara Assembly seat.

Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan is seeking re-election from Karad South in Satara district. State BJP president Chandrakant Patil is contesting the Kothrud seat in Pune. Housing minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who left the Congress to join the BJP, is also seeking relection..

Pawar's nephew and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is seeking re-election from family seat of Baramati, while grandnephew Rohit Pawar from Karjat Jamkhed. The NCP’s original team members like the Mohite-Patil family of Solapur, the royal family of Bhosales in Satara, the Mahadik family in Kolhapur and leaders like Jaykumar Gore, Dilip Sopal, Rashmi Bagal and Madan Bhosale have now moved over to the BJP or the Shiv Sena. Harshawardhan Patil moved from the Congress to the BJP.

"The BJP is saying that the Pawars will be wiped out from politics, the NCP will be finished. It is not that easy. There is sympathy among voters after Pawar uncle-nephew duo were booked in the MSCB scam. In fact, some of those who switched sides too are feeling bad," a senior politician told DH.

The Congress and NCP are banking on individual influence and Pawar's political foresight. But veteran leader Sushilkumar Shinde's statement that the Congress and NCP will merge in the times to come has come as a shockers to party workers of both the parties. "It's confusing people," a senior Congress leader said, adding that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi too took a dig at the opposition alliance.

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Total seats in Maharashtra: 288
Seats in Western Maharashtra: 70

List of districts:

Pune - 21
Ahmednagar - 12
Solapur - 11
Kolhapur - 10
Sangli - 8
Satara - 8

2014 Results

BJP - 24
Shiv Sena - 13
NCP - 19
Congress - 10
MNS - 1
Others - 3