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In Latur, Vilasrao Deshmukh’s sons evoke his legacy
Seven years after the death of former chief minister (CM) Vilasrao Deshmukh, two of his sons are trying to make it to the state legislature from two seats in Latur
Seven years after the death of former chief minister (CM) Vilasrao Deshmukh, two of his sons are trying to make it to the state legislature from two seats in Latur district. While his eldest son, Amit, is seeking re-election from Latur City, his youngest son, Dhiraj, is contesting his debut election from the neighbouring Latur Rural.
Their campaigns have become a talking point in central Maharashtra, with their brother, Riteish and his wife Genelia, both Bollywood actors, also rallying for them. The brothers have invoked their father’s legacy to appeal to voters.
Late Vilasrao Deshmukh – who served as Maharashtra CM for two terms between 1999 and 2008 – was a popular mass leaders. During his lifetime, he turned Latur into a Congress stronghold. However, following his death in 2012, the party seems to be losing ground.
Dhiraj’s campaign has generated a lot of buzz, and it may not be too difficult for him to win against Shiv Sena candidate Sachin Deshmukh. Vilasrao’s younger brother, Diliprao, is guiding Dhiraj. Meanwhile, Amit is facing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Shailesh Lahoti, whom he had defeated in 2014 by 49,465 votes.
“It doesn’t look like a tough fight for Dhiraj. Shiv Sena has no presence in the constituency and local Sena workers have written a letter to their candidate requesting him to actively participate in the campaign. In the 2014 elections, the Sena candidate stood fourth. BJP exchanged its traditional Latur Rural with Shiv Sena in exchange of adjoining Ausa. This has made the contest easier for Dhiraj,” said a Shiv Sena leader.
On the other hand, Amit is facing anti-incumbency and voters have criticised him for being inaccessible. “Forget undertaking development work, Deshmukh does not even live in Latur. He is not available for the people in need. He was celebrating his birthday abroad when the Latur was facing acute drought,” said Ajit Patil Kavhekar, sitting BJP corporator. Kavhekar, whose father had defeated Vilasrao Deshmukh in 1995 from the constituency, was one of the aspirants for the party ticket for Assembly polls. Amit, district president of his party, was seen as the party face after his father. However, after the party ended up losing its power in local bodies, BJP’s Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar emerged as an alternative leadership.
“There is buzz among the voters about these two constituencies as Deshmukh brothers are contesting, but BJP has improved its prospects in the last few days in Latur City after lagging in the first phase. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally last week, the party cadre has been charged up. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Rajasab Maniyar is getting good response from Muslims and Dalits, whose combine voter tally is more than 1.72 lakh. This could be a bad news for Amit,”said Jayprakash Dagade, political analyst from Latur.
In addition to this, there are also voices of dissents from within the party against dynasty. Party workers are upset over two brothers from same family being fielded in the fray. Party insiders also feel that Deshmukh brothers may not even enjoy the sympathy wave they had after Vilasrao’s death.
Amit Deshmukh, however, says that the situation is favourable for him. “The allegations levelled against me by the BJP here are all political statements. BJP has failed to complete projects related to the water supply and roads in last five years. The development in Latur was during our regime. Not only in Latur, but even across Marathwada the public sentiment is in our favour,” he said.
