The Opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) found a new ally in Maharashtra on Tuesday, as the Raju Shetty-led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) joined the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI (A) grand alliance to fight the forthcoming lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the State.
In a fruition of sustained efforts made by senior Sena and BJP leaders over the past several months, influential farmers’ leader and SSS MP from Hathkanangale constituency in western Maharashtra Raju Shetty formally announced his decision to join the “Maha-Yuti” —as the grand alliance of Sena-BJP-RPI(A) combine is known in Maharashtra.
Shetty’s announcement came after he held a meeting with the Opposition grand alliance leaders at Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s Bandra residence “Matoshri” in north-west Mumbai. Apart from Uddhav, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, leader of the Opposition in the State legislative Council Vinod Tawde, also of the BJP, and RPI(A) president Ramdas Athavale were present at the meeting.
Talking to mediapersons after sealing a poll pact with the “Maha-Yuti”, Shetty said: “Having been in power for three consecutive terms, the Congress-NCP alliance has turned extremely arrogant in its dealings with the people. The prevailing mood among the people is that the ruling Democratic Front be
shown the door. Keeping in view the sentiments of the people, my party is joining hands with the Opposition grand alliance. After a meeting with the “Maha-Yuti” leaders, my party has decided to fight elections in alliance with the Sena, BJP and RPI(A) in Maharashtra and become a constituent of the NDA at the national level”.
Welcoming the entry of the SSS into the grand alliance, Munde said: “We will be fighting the forthcoming lok Sabha elections, subsequent Assembly and local body polls in Maharashtra in alliance with the Swabhimany Shetkari Sanghatana”.
Given that Shetty is a force to reckon with in western Maharashtra, his entry to the Opposition grand alliance is bound to cause a major concern for the NCP, which controls a majority of the co-operative sugar factories in the sugar belt and considers the region as its fiefdom.
Having led several agitations on behalf of farmers for higher sugarcane price over the past few years, Shetty has a very large following among the farmers in western Maharashtra, where the ruling NCP and Congress had won three lok Sabha seats each (out of a total 10 seats in the region) in the 2009 lok Sabha polls, while the Sena and BJP had bagged one seat each. The remaining two seats are being held by Shetty (Hathkanangale) and Independent MP Sadashivrao Mandlik (Kolhapur).