Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2024: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah would help consolidate Dhangar votes

Mumbai: The visit of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in poll-bound Maharashtra would help the Congress party in consolidating the votes of Dhangars, one of the big population groups of Maharashtra.

Dhangar community is found in large stretches of Western Maharashtra, Marathwada, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha - and commands influence in 4 Lok Sabha seats and around 30-35 Vidhan Sabha seats. 

Traditionally, Dhangar are shepherds living a largely isolated life, wandering mainly in forest, hills and mountains.

In Karnataka, Kurubas have similar culture and practices as Dhangars of Maharashtra.

When Siddaramaiah arrived in Nanded, he was welcomed with the traditional shawl and stick of the Dhangar community. “In Nanded, Maharashtra, the leaders of the Dhangar community met me, honoured me with love and talked to me for a while,” Siddaramaiah posted on X, coinciding with his visit to Nanded and Solapur. 

Siddaramaiah, a Ahinda leader and Kuruba icon, lashed out at the BJP-led MahaYuti in his election rallies. 

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Siddaramaiah said that he makes fun of guarantee schemes of the Congress.

“When the guarantee schemes are announced in Karnataka none are implemented. The development of the country will slow down. He said that if it is implemented, the state will go bankrupt. Modi is working to mislead the people of the country. But BJP announced the same guarantee schemes in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana,” he said. 

The Dhangar community also forms the major part of BJP's “Ma-Dha-Va” (or Madhav formula) involving  the three communities of  Mali-Dhangar-Vanjari - a political equation that the saffron party worked and developed since the 1980s and 1990s as an alternative to the traditional  Maratha-Dalit-Muslim vote-bank politics of the Congress.

However, in the quarter of a century things have changed and now Dhangar votes are going to be very important for both the BJP-led Maha Yuti and Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi - particularly in the wake of the realignment of the political forces. 

The Dhangar community - traditional nomadic shepherds - who get 3.5% reservation in education and jobs under NT (C) category demand that they be placed under STs, which has a 7% quota. 

The Dhangar community leaders claim ‘Dhangar’ and ‘Dhangad’ are same and a "typographical error” has deprived them in Maharashtra to get the ST benefits unlike other states. 

The ST community is opposed to the idea as it will dilute their quota. 

The Eknath Shinde-led MahaYuti dispensation renamed Ahmednagar district as Ahilyanagar after  Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar, the legendary Holkar-queen of the Maratha-Malwa kingdom.

Ahilyabai Holkar (31 May, 1725 – 13 August, 1795), was a great pioneer and involved in several social causes and helped build hundreds of temples and dharamshalas throughout India. 

Ahilyabai Holkar was born Chaundi in Ahmednagar district to a Dhangar family and was married to Khanderao Holkar of the Holkar dynasty of Holkar. 

In four Lok Sabha seats  of Baramati, Madha, Solapur and Satara and 30-35 Vidhan Sabha  constituencies in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada regions,  the Dhangar has a sizable presence and could be a deciding factor. The Ahmednagar district and Parliamentary seat in North Maharashtra has a significant population of Dhangar community

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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