Some electoral reverses await the ruling Congress-NCP alliance, as 19 constituencies, ten in western Maharashtra, six in Marathwada, two in Konkan region and one in North Maharashtra, go to lok Sabha polls on Thursday, under the lengthened shadow of the Modi phenomenon and some other regional factors.
In Thursday’s second phase of polling in Maharashtra, in which the fate of several political bigwigs, including Adarsh scam tainted former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde will be decided, the BJP-led “Maha-Yuti” (Opposition grand alliance) - hopes to improve its 2009 tally of seven seats in the poll-bound constituencies.
If the much-discussed Narendra Modi rally proved to be a game-changer in Ashok Chavan’s home constituency of Nanded in Marathwada, the M-factor is threatening to spoil the chances of youth Congress leader Vishwajeet Kadam in Pune and Union Minister of State Pratik Patil in Sangli, both in western Maharashtra.
The fallout of a rebellion within the NCP cadres has brightened the Shiv Sena’s chances of bagging the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat in coastal Konkan region, while Sadabhau Ramchandra Khot of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, a constituent of the Maha-Yuti, is giving senior NCP leader Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil a run for his money in a three-cornered contest in Sharad Pawar-held Mhada constituency, where Vijaysinh’s brother Pratapsinh Mohite-Patil is contesting as a rebel candidate.
On the Opposition grand alliance front, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde is slugging it out against NCP’s Minister of State for Revenue Suresh Dhas in a fierce contest being witnessed in Beed constituency of Marathwada region. Over 3.25-crore voters in 19 constituencies will exercise their right to decide the fate of 358 candidates, including of the 24 women and 201 Independents, in the fray.
like in the first phase of polling held on April 10 for ten constituencies of Vidarbha region where over 60 per cent of the total voters exercised their franchise, pollsters expect a large turnout of voters in Thursday’s second phase of polling in the State. The 19 constituencies that are going to polls on Thursday are, Pune, Baramati, Shirur, Maval, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Hatkanangale and Ahmednagar in Western Maharashtra, Hingoli, Nanded, Beed, Parbhani, Osmanabad and latur in Marathwada, Shirdi in North Maharashtra and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Maval in coastal Konkan region.
In the sugar-rich western Maharashtra where the Congress and NCP had won three seats each (out of a total of ten seats) in the 2009 polls, the situation is not as conducive for the two ruling Democratic Front (DF) partners as it was in the previous election. Facing severe anti-incumbency, the Modi factor that appears to be working in a few of the constituencies and presence of rebel candidate in Mhada constituency, both the parties will take some beating in the polls.
Prominent among the candidates in western Maharashtra are Sushilkumar Shinde, (Solapur), Union Minister Pratik Patil (Sangli) Vishwajeet Kadam, all from the Congress, sitting MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule (Baramati), Chhatrapati Shivaji’s thirteenth descendent Udayan Raje Bhosale (Satara), Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, all from the NCP and sitting MP of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana Raju Shetty (Hatkanangale).
Apart from Ashok Chavan (Nanded) of the Congress and Gopinath Munde (Beed) of the BJP, prominent others in the fray are crime-tainted senior NCP Minister Padamsinh Patil (Osmanabad in Marathwada) and Nilesh Rane (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency in Konkan region). Also being keenly watched is the contest in late Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s home constituency of latur, where his MlA son Amit Deshmukh is campaigning intensely for Congress Zilla Parishad president Dattatray Bansode, in his bid to hold onto the legacy of his father.
In Pune, Maharashtra Youth Congress president and senior Congress Minister Patangrao Kadam’s son Vishwajeet is pitted against the BJP’s Anil Shirole and D Paigude of the MNS. Though suspended sitting Congress MP and CWG scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi has declared his support to Vishwajeet Kadam, focus is riveted on Kalmadi on whether he will transfer his support base to the Congress candidate or not.
The huge public rally addressed by the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Pune has brightened the chances of Shirole. In Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, the rebellion by NCP’s MlA from Sawantwadi Deepak Keskarkar and appeal to electors to vote against the Congress nominee senior Congress Minister’s son and party nominee Nilesh Rane has virtually given the seat to the Shiv Sena.
During the electioneering for the second phase of polling, Congress’ vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi, BJP’s national president Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, NCP president Sharad Pawar, MNS leader Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray campaigned for their respective parties and alliances in western Maharashtra and Marathwada region.