‘Renaming of Ahmednagar is to woo politically significant Dhangar community’

Shinde attended the birth anniversary event of Ahilya Devi Holkar at her birthplace, Chondi village in Ahmednagar, where he announced the renaming.

When Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced the renaming of Ahmednagar as Ahilya Nagar after Ahilya Devi Holkar, it was, by all accounts, more than the party ideology-based renaming that politicians are known for. The Holkars belong to the Dhangar or shepherd community, which is an important one on the political map of Maharashtra, with a significant presence in about 12 Lok Sabha and 80 assembly constituencies. The move then is clearly to woo this community.

Shinde attended the birth anniversary event of Ahilya Devi Holkar at her birthplace, Chondi village in Ahmednagar, where he announced the renaming. (PTI)

Shinde attended the birth anniversary event of Ahilya Devi Holkar at her birthplace, Chondi village in Ahmednagar, where he announced the renaming. The BJP has been demanding the renaming of Ahmednagar district since February when the government changed the names of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv.

For the BJP, the Dhangar community has a political significance, as it was part of ‘MADHAV’ (Mali, Dhangar and Vanjari), a caste combination of Other Backward Castes in the 1990s to counter the socio-political base of the Congress-NCP which was Maratha-Scheduled Castes-Nomadic Tribes-Muslim. Before the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP had promised to clear a proposal for Dhangar reservation in the first cabinet once it came to power but failed to fulfil that promise.

The same day, BJP leader and minister for medical education Girish Mahajan announced that a medical college in Baramati (the home turf of NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Lok Sabha constituency of his daughter Supriya Sule) would also be named after Ahilya Devi Holkar. These two announcements are an indication that the BJP is taking every possible step to woo the Dhangars.

“The community has a significant presence in North Maharashtra, Western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Western Vidarbha,” said Prakash Pawar, political analyst at Kolhapur University. “The BJP has been working for three decades to get the attention of this community which is divided between several parties, mainly the BJP, NCP and Congress. Voters from the Dhangar community play a major role in about 12 to 14 Lok Sabha seats like Baramati, Shirur, Madha, Sangli, Parbhani, Buldhana, Yawatmal and Hingoli. They are also significant in about 80 assembly constituencies.”

Pawar said that the renaming and naming of a city and a college after Ahilya Devi helped political parties to an extent. “However, they are symbolic decisions,” he said. “The actual leadership or the face of the community is important during elections. Now Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has been seen as the pride and face of the Dhangar community. If he comes to campaign in Maharashtra, he could shift community votes to his party or alliance. But one thing is certain: we are now going to see a competition between the ruling alliance and the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to woo Dhangar voters.”

Dhangar leader and former state minister Mahadeo Jankar welcomed the renaming decision. “It’s obvious that this decision has been taken because of Dhangar voters’ influence in assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies,” he said. “The Dhangars were once a ruler community but due to political ignorance have been exploited by ruling parties for decades. Now that there is awareness in the community, we hope that all parties will think about this when deciding candidates in the elections.” Jankar added that his party has not yet decided on an alliance with either the MVA or the BJP.

Opposition parties too welcomed the decision to rename Ahmednagar but also expressed scepticism. “Devendra Fadnavis had promised to give reservations to the Dhangar community but never did,” said state Congress president Nana Patole. “The renaming is clearly for votes. Besides, Ahilya Devi never indulged in the politics of hatred, unlike the BJP which spreads acrimony in the name of caste and religion. She is remembered for her inclusive governance.”