Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Pristine South Konkan to witness direct battles for supremacy

Ratnagiri/ Sindhudurg: A fierce eyeball-to-eyeball direct clash is being witnessed in the seven seats of picturesque South Konkan’s twin districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg along the Arabian Sea.

The contests involve the Rane-brothers - Nilesh and Nitesh and Samant-brothers Uday and Kiran - who are dominant players in the region.

Traditionally the region was known for the money-order economy as a large number of people from the coastal belt works in the Mumbai metropolitan region - and once the bastion of the Balasaheb Thackeray-founded undivided Shiv Sena.

The Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat is represented by BJP’s Narayan Rane, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister and ex-Leader of the Opposition.

While six of these seats - Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Rajapur, Kankavli, Kudal and Sawantwadi falls under the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat, the Guhagar seat comes under the Raigad Lok Sabha seat, which is now represented by Sunil Tatkare, the state NCP President.

In the twin districts - known for mangoes, cashew, fish, beaches, greenery - a lot is in stake for Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde and Narayan Rane, who started from Shiv Sena and moved to Congress to finally settle in BJP. The two Rane brothers - Nilesh and Nitesh are contesting the Kudal and Kankavli seats, respectively.

The younger brother Nitesh, a two-time sitting MLA - once from the Congress and now from the BJP, is facing Sandesh Parkar of the Shiv Sena (UBT).

The older brother Nilesh, who is a former Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP when the Rane family was with the Congress, too was keen to contest. However, Shinde refused to part with the Kankavli seat to the BJP and Nilesh joined the Shiv Sena and is facing Vaibhav Naik of Shiv Sena (UBT).

In Sawantwadi, state Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar is seeking re-election and is pitting against Rajan Teli, who recently left the BJP to join the Shiv Sena (UBT). Kesarkar is a three-time MLA having won earlier for undivided Sharad Pawar-led NCP and undivided Shiv Sena.

In Ratnagiri, close Shinde aide Uday Samant is seeking re-election and is pitted against Bal Mane of Shiv Sena (UBT). Samant is a four-time MLA - twice each from undivided NCP and undivided Shiv Sena.

His brother Kiran Samant is contesting the Rajapur seat for Shiv Sena against Thackeray family aide and senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Rajan Salvi.

In Guhagar, six-time MLA Bhaskar Jadhav of Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing Rajesh Bendal of Shiv Sena. Incidentally, Jadhav had once been the state President of undivided NCP.In Chiplun, the fight is between Prashant Yadav of NCP (SP) and Shekhar Nikam of NCP.

Shinde aide Bharat Gogawale, Sunil Tatkare’s Aditi daughter faces test

The majestic Raigad Fort, one of the strongest forts in the Deccan Plateau, often referred to as ‘Gibraltar of the East’ or ‘Durg Raj’, the King of Forts, was from where the legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundation of the “Hindavi-swarajya” or self-rule of the Hindu people.

Shivaji Maharaj (19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was coronated in Raigad Fort on 6 June 1674 - and 2023-24 marks the 350th anniversary of the defining moment in the history of this sub-continent.

The Raigad district now faces a fierce contest between the ruling Maha Yuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The six Vidhan Sabha seats of Raigad Lok Sabha seat, which is represented by state NCP President are Sunil Tatkare are - Pen, Alibaug, Shrivardhan and Mahad in Raigad district and Dapoli which falls in Raigad district while Guhagar in Ratnagiri district.

Tatkare’s daughter and state’s Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare is contesting from Shrivardhan. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s close aide Bharatshet Gogawale, who is a three-time MLA and Shiv Sena’s chief whip, is contesting the Mahad seat.