Aurangabad: Marathwada is witnessing a tough multi-cornered contest between the Congress-NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena, in all 46 constituencies in the region. The recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and projecting Pankaja Palve-Munde, daughter of the late Gopinath Munde as the future chief minister of the state, seem to have strengthened the chances of the BJP gaining an upper hand in the assembly elections. However, the Shiv Sena is making all possible efforts to retain its position in the saffron belt of Aurangabad, Parbhani and Osmanabad districts.
It is important to note that in 2009 assembly elections, the Congress and NCP bagged 18 and 13 seats respectively, proving their dominance in this backward region. The BJP and Shiv Sena suffered a huge setback and could manage to win just 2 and 7 seats respectively in the region.
After the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation elections in 1988, the Shiv Sena started its innings in rural Maharashtra. It led to forging of the Shiv Sena and BJP alliance in the state under the leadership the late Pramod Mahajan, Gopinath Munde and Bal Thackeray.
However, in the present elections, the Congress and NCP are facing a severe anti-incumbency factor as the BJP is successfully projecting that the state could not witness any major development or positive change in the last 15 years of Congress-NCP rule. The major issues of Marathwada like access to drinking water to Marathwada from Jayakwadi dam, complete regional imbalance, disparity in fund allocations for various developmental works and lack of irrigation and roads remain unresolved.
This has turned the public anger against the government. Particularly, Rajendra Darda, the state education Minister and Abdul Sattar, animal husbandry minister are facing a very tough fight in the Shiv Sena dominated district of Aurangabad.
If the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had fought the polls together, there would have been no scope for these leaders. Now both the leaders are banking on the division of votes in Aurangabad East and Sillod constituency. Rajendra Darda, who has an edge, is fighting the BJP candidate, Atul Save, son of former Shiv Sena MP, Moreshwar Save and the Shiv Sena candidate and the Mayor Kala Oza.
Darda is facing the threat of the division of minority votes due to the presence of MIM candidate, Gafar Kadri and the NCP candidate, Juber Motiwala, the rebel candidate of Congress Uttamsingh Pawar. All are in the fray with the single objective of defeating the minister. It is a fact that Rajendra Darda has well preserved the constituency and developed the infrastructure of roads in every colony in the last 15 years.
Former chief minister and Nanded MP Ashok Chavan is also facing a tough fight. His wife Amita Chavan is contesting from the bastion of Chavan family Bhokar assembly seat earlier held by Ashok Chavan. Although Chavan bagged two parliamentary seats in the recent elections from his area, the BJP has made inroads into his bastion by inducting Dr. Madhav Kinhalkar into the BJP at the last minute; He had contested last election on BJP ticket and fought the legal battle of paid news against Chavan.
Chavan is also facing internal problems as Bhaskarrao Patil Khatgaonkar, who is the brother in law of the late Ashok Chavan. He was a member of parliament for three times from Nanded and has joined the BJP to take the revenge on the Chavan dynasty in Nanded. Khatgaonkar has grassroots level contacts.
Suryakanta Patil, former MP of the NCP has also joined the BJP and has a traditional base in Hadgaon and Bhokar blocks. It is important to note that the BJP made every efforts to woo senior Congress leaders with the sole intention of demolishing the Congress in its stronghold of Nanded.
Amit Deshmukh, son of former chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh, is also facing a tough fight in the family bastion of Latur Assembly constituency.
According to local political analysts, Amit's over confidence and his failure in maintaining the age old coordinal relations with his electorate, who were solidly behind his father. The people are unhappy with the functioning of the Congress led Municipal Corporation and inability to address the serious issue of water availability in Latur city. The water supply is irregular in Latur. The Congress candidate had to face defeat in the last parliamentary elections.
However, the NCP minister Jaidatta Kshirsagar seems to be in a very comfortable position with his strong network in Beed and the OBCs and minorities are in his favor compared to his nearest rival Vinayak Mete, hardcore Maratha leader of Shiv Sangram Parishad, who is fighting as an ally of the BJP.
The fight between two cousin brothers, Rana Jagjitsingh, son of Dr. Padmasingh Patil, close aide of Sharad Pawar and Omraje Nimbalkar of Shiv Sena will be very fascinating. Moreover, the fight between members of the the former chief minister Shivaji Rao Patil Nilangekar family, Ashok Patil Nilangekar, and Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar of the BJP has generated a lot of curiosity in the region.
The rebels like Prashant Bamb, an independent MLA who joined the BJP on the eve of election will be significant players because the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance fought over the seat of Gangapur, for which Uddhav Thackeray was insisting.
This move has been criticized by Udhav Thackeray, who stated that the last minute entrants became more beloved than the 25 years old alliance. The old guard of Shiv Sena, Kishanchand Tanwani has joined the BJP at the last minute and is contesting election from Aurangabad central. It will be a close contest between two old guards Pradeep Jaiswal of Shiv Sena and Mr. Tanwani of the BJP, where MM Shaikh, former MLC is banking on minority votes, which may benefit him following the division of the Hindu votes.
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