Congress on rough road against BJP in Latur
In Latur, the Deshmukh brothers face tough challenges in the assembly elections against strong BJP candidates, amidst shifting voter sentiments and potential divisions.
Latur: He had raised the bar six months ago garnering three Lok Sabha seats – Latur, Osmanabad and Nanded -- for the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), but in the upcoming assembly election, former state minister from the Congress and former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s son, Amit Deshmukh, and his younger brother Dhiraj are on a rough road in their own pocket borough, Latur.
A clash of dynasties is unfolding in Latur City. Amit, three-term Congress MLA and torch bearer of the Deshmukh legacy in Marathwada, is facing BJP candidate Archana Patil Chakurkar, daughter-in-law of Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, former union home minister in Latur City. In adjoining Latur Rural constituency, Amit’s younger brother and sitting MLA Dhiraj, is pitted against BJP’s member of legislative council Ramesh Karad, an education baron, who in the last two assembly elections lost only by a slim margin.
Vilasrao Deshmukh, five-term MLA from Latur between 1980 and 2009, and two-term CM, was one of the state’s mass leaders. Despite the competition from Shivraj Patil Chakurkar and Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, another stalwart from the district, Vilasrao managed to tower over the two. After his death in August 2012, his two sons, and younger brother and former MLC Diliprao are carrying his legacy forward.
Amit, who was medical education minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government between 2019-2022, won his first three terms with comfortable margin by getting over 52% vote share. In 2019 he eased his younger brother Dhiraj into the adjoining Latur Rural assembly seat.
Throwing light on the political scenario of Latur, a local Congress leader said that Amit had weaker opponents in three previous elections, while the Shiv Sena candidate against Dhiraj exited midway in 2019. “But this time around, both BJP candidates are strong – Archana Patil Chakurkar belongs to Lingayat community, which accounts for over 20% votes in Latur City. Likewise, in Latur Rural, OBC leader Ramesh Karad, is against Dhiraj. (OBCs account for over 20% votes.) In the backdrop of consolidation of OBC voters lately, Karad may have an advantage,” he said.
The brothers are facing yet another threat in both constituencies from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidates who have been getting a positive response from voters and pose a threat of dividing the Dalit and Muslim votes that are generally polled by them.
Bollywood to woo voters
To counter this, the Deshmukhs brought their third brother, film actor Riteish Deshmukh, into the campaign fray. His recent speech in Latur city slamming BJP for using religion to seek votes went viral as much as his and wife Genelia’s fun reels setting couple goals. It made an impact in the 85,000-strong Muslim voter base, in the constituency of 4 lakh voters.
“Those who claim their religion is in danger, it is their party which is in danger, and they are praying to their dharma to save it and themselves,” said Riteish recently. He is expected to hold another rally and a road show for his brothers.
“He had invited Salman Khan in the 2019 election, which made a huge impact. This time too film stars are expected to be invited in the last leg. Additionally, Amit’s mother Vaishalitai and uncle Diliprao will also join rallies,” said a local Congress worker from Latur.
In Latur Rural, Ramesh Karad, a leader from the Vanjari community, who had polled sizable votes in 2009 and 2014 enjoys political clout built through his educational institutions such as MIT, headquartered in Pune, with a branch in Latur. Of the 3.34 lakh voters, 90,000 are OBCs, which gives the BJP candidate an edge over Deshmukhs.
‘Disenchantment’ with Cong
Archana Chakurkar emphasised that the party’s winning card is the fact that “people are determined to see change” in Latur City.
“People’s common complaint is that their MLA is never available for them; voters have started speaking up against Deshmukhs. They have a huge network through their institutions (Deshmukhs control at least eight private and cooperative sugar factories, a cooperative bank and other educational institutions employing thousands) but that will not help them as they do not have dedicated party workers,” said Chakurkar. “It is for the first time that the sitting MLA is facing a serious opponent – he has not even been able to clear the proposal for the district hospital, despite the government passing it.”
She added, even Muslims, who are traditional Congress voters “are feeling that they have not been accommodated in the system”.
Dhiraj Deshmukh countered the allegations saying, “Every election is said to be a tough one for us. But we won Latur Lok Sabha this year by over 60,000 votes after a defeat of over 2.89 lakh votes in 2019. This indicates the winds are blowing in our favour. Former BJP MP Sudhakar Shrangare has joined Congress which will help us win both seats.”
Latur-based political commentator Jaiprakash Dagade opined that the Deshmukh brothers are indeed facing a tough fight. “Both have allegations of non-accessibility, while potential vote division in both constituencies may also go against them. Amit Deshmukh is facing anti-incumbency after serving three terms – it is as severe as the one faced by his father in 1995, when he was defeated after serving three terms,” said Dagade. “Though his constituency has dominant Muslim voters, Lingayats (to which Chakurkar belongs) have similar strength with a count of 75,000. Dalit votes will get divided between VBA and Congress, which will give an advantage to the BJP candidate.”
He added, Vilasrao’s former personal secretary Shankar Bhise (a Maratha) joining BJP a few days ago, may result in Maratha votes shifting in favour of the BJP candidate in Latur Rural, making it a tough fight for Dhiraj. “Additionally, former Congress leader Basavraj Patil and former MLA Shivajirao Patil Kavhekar, who defeated Vilasrao Deshmukh, have been campaigning for BJP candidates, which adds to the woes of Deshmukh brothers.”