E-Paper
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Ahmednagar a ‘hot seat’, Sujay Vikhe-Patil’s electoral debut could re-draw equations
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Ahmednagar will remain a ‘hot seat’ in this general election, not least because the BJP, which currently dominates, is sparring with the Shiv Sena.
Renowned as the birthplace of the cooperative movement in the country, Ahmednagar district – geographically the largest in Maharashtra– is politically among the most volatile. The district is also known to have multiple contenders for the state’s chief minister’s post, none of whom have got the opportunity so far.
Senior Congressman and leader of opposition in Maharashtra assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil’s 35-year-old son, Dr Sujay Vikhe Patil will, by his own admission, contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Ahmednagar (city) constituency.
Sujay, a neurosurgeon, is determined to contest, but according to the seat-sharing formula, Congress is to give Ahmednagar to the NCP.
Recently, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had appealed to NCP chief Sharad Pawar to treat Sujay as his own grandson and vacate the seat for the Congress.
Indications are that the NCP has shown a willingness to accommodate Sujay as their candidate.
Although BJP member and sitting MP Dilip Gandhi has a strong hold over the constituency, political observers feel that the recent tension between the Shiv Sena and the BJP over mayoral elections could hurt his prospects.
“There may have been problems between both parties. Once the election campaigning starts, everyone from both parties will support me,” said Gandhi, an MP of three terms, who is once again aspiring to contest.
Recent civic polls in Ahmednagar suggest that the Sena has established itself as serious player with 24 of its corporators elected in the house of 68 corporators, making it the single largest party. However, the BJP managed to secure the support from NCP’s 18 corporators and won the mayoral post. This shocking development forced the NCP to expel all its 18 corporators from the party.
With 17 sugar cooperative factories and multiple credit societies, politics in the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency is often centered around the cooperative movement.
A traditional bastion of the Congress, this Lok Sabha constituency was breached by the Shiv Sena for the first time in 1998 with the late Balasaheb Vikhe Patil winning the seat. It was Balasaheb’s father, Vitthal-rao Vikhe Patil, who pioneered the cooperative movement.
In 1999, the constituency went to the BJP and Dilip Gandhi for the first time, with Sena support. However, Gandhi’s equations have soured with the Sena which has been demanding this seat.
The Sena MLA from Parner, Vijay Auti and former MLA and Shiv Sena strongman Anil Rathod have been bitterly opposed to Gandhi.
Rathod was instrumental in getting 24 corporators of the Sena elected to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
Dr Sujay Vikhe Patil says: “The big issue is employment generation for the youth. There has been no intimation from the NCP regarding seats distribution. Negotiations are still going on but no official intimation.”
