Maharashtra agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde will have to effectively counter the Maratha vote consolidation in Parli assembly segment, the hometown of late Gopinath Munde which interestingly won't have a BJP nominee in the fray after decades.
Elections to Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later.
Just four months ago, the Maratha factor contributed to the narrow defeat of BJP candidate Pankaja Munde, cousin of Dhananjay, from the Beed Lok Sabha constituency which includes the Parli constituency.
The Maratha quota sentiment remains a strong factor to reckon with in Parli, a rural constituency dominated by issues like MSP for soybean crops and unemployment.
Political observers feel Dhananjay will have to ensure the support of the OBC community to blunt the resentment in Marathas against the BJP-led government.
In a strategic move, Sharad Pawar has fielded Rajesaheb Deshmukh as NCP (SP) nominee against Dhananjay Munde, an Ajit Pawar loyalist and NCP candidate.
Parli is the hometown of the late Gopinath Munde, credited for expanding BJP's footprint in the Marathwada region.
With BJP nominating Pankaja as an MLC and Dhananjay already a member of the NCP camp, the Parli constituency won't have a BJP representative this time.
Pankaja Munde had scored two victories in Parli in 2009 and 2014 polls.
She missed a hat-trick in 2019 when Dhananjay Munde defeated her by 30,701 votes.
The brother and sister duo have buried their differences over the last five years.
NCP (SP) nominee Deshmukh claimed Dhananjay had failed to resolve farmers' issues in Parli. He alleged local people are living in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.
Dhananjay, however, feels that the intensity of the Maratha factor has reduced over the months.
Speaking to PTI, he said the caste politics witnessed in the Lok Sabha elections was an aberration, highlighting the victory of candidates of various castes from the Beed parliamentary constituency in the past.
He acknowledged that Beed is not unaffected by Maratha quota agitation, without mentioning reservation leader Manoj Jarange.
"My fight for Maratha reservation was not considered during Lok Sabha polls. Reservation was not the only issue.
There are other factors including a limited discontent among farmers," Dhananjay said analysing the Lok Sabha poll outcome.
"The intensity of the quota agitation that existed in general elections has decreased," he claimed.
Queried on whether Beed district witnessed maximum suicides by farmers, the minister listed various initiatives undertaken by the agriculture ministry headed by him.
"The government has paid the insurance premium for farmers.
I have also demanded that the import duty on soybean oil be raised.
The government has also started centres for purchasing soybeans from farmers," he added.
Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) is confident to maintain the momentum it got in the recent general elections. NCP (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane had defeated Pankaja from Beed by a thin margin of around 6,000 votes.
The consolidation of Maratha votes in favour of Sonawane is evident as the BJP and the NCP (SP) each had secured the lead from three out of six assembly segments under the Beed parliamentary seat.
Deshmukh said he would establish the rule of law if elected from Parli.
He alleged local businessmen are relocating as fake offences are being registered.
When asked about Pankaja securing a lead in votes from the Parli assembly constitue ncy, Deshmukh said Lok Sabha and assembly elections are distinct.
"Factors like Pankaja Munde's work and sympathy for being Gopinath Munde's daughter benefited her. On the contrary, Dhananjay Munde had betrayed Gopinath Munde. Dhananjay has done no work.
Farmers are awaiting payment of crop insurance for years," he claimed.
Parli resident Chetan Saundale feels the Maratha quota issue won't affect the electoral outcome.
