Firm stand: Voters in Nanded have taken a pledge to not assist any politician till their points are addressed.
| Photo Credit: Abhinay Deshpande
Residents of 55 villages in Ardhapur taluka, which comes underneath the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra, have put up posters ‘barring’ campaigning by politicians, particularly from the ruling Mahayuti coalition, forward of polling in the seat in the second section on April 26.
Situated inside a 30-km radius of the town, the villages are predominantly inhabited by members of the Maratha neighborhood, who’ve been taking out protests over the previous 12 months underneath the management of quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to push for his or her demand for reservation in authorities jobs and training.
“Despite pressure from the ruling coalition to attend rallies and campaign trails, we have collectively decided against it due to the government’s failure to fulfil its promise of providing reservation to Marathas,” mentioned Vittal Kalyankar from Pimpalgaon. He provides that the neighborhood just isn’t against Prime Minister Narendra Modi however is aggrieved with the Mahayuti and the incumbent MP, Prataprao Chikhalikar Patil of the BJP.
“In the villages, we live in harmony. Even people from other communities are supporting reservation for Marathas. Our fight is not against any community but for the welfare of our future generations. We’re not opposed to PM Modi at the Centre, but the local leadership of the Mahayuti and the incumbent MP,” Mr. Kalyankar mentioned.
A distance away at Shelgaon, over 3,000 voters took a pledge at Atmaram Maharaj temple to not assist any politician till their points are addressed. “We’ll participate in the polls, but we won’t support the candidate or party that deceived us,” mentioned Devrao Uttamrao Rajegore.
Villagers have collectively determined in opposition to attending ballot rallies and marketing campaign trails as a result of authorities’s failure to fulfil its promise of offering reservation to the Marathas.
| Photo Credit:
Abhinay Deshpande
‘Zero development’
Gathered close to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in the village, Mr. Rajegore and a bunch of males level out a muddy street. “Do you see that road? It gets flooded during the monsoon. Despite being just 10 km from Nanded, there’s zero development here,” he mentioned.
“Our protest is not only over Maratha reservation, but other equally pressing issues,” mentioned village elder Naresh Puyod. Water shortage, MSP for crops, affect of GST, inflation, unemployment, and the defection of two-time CM and Congress chief Ashok Chavan to the BJP are the main speaking factors in the seat.
Conversely, subjects just like the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Hindi as a nationwide language, infrastructural growth work in north India, and Mr. Modi’s picture have acquired much less consideration right here.
‘Tough fight’
Nanded, a significant city in drought-hit Marathwada area, had been a Congress bastion. It was breached by the BJP when Mr. Chikhalikar defeated Mr. Chavan in the 2019 ballot by a margin of over 40,000 votes. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi candidate Yashpal Bhinge securing 1.66 lakh votes had dented Mr. Chavan’s hopes. “Now, he [Chavan] campaigns for Mr. Chikhalikar as if he were the candidate himself,” mentioned senior journalist and political observer Sajeev Kulkarni.
He mentioned “anti-incumbency is clearly evident” and Mr. Chavan’s induction into the BJP has made profitable the seat more durable for the social gathering. “Voters, especially in rural areas, are not drawing benefits from welfare schemes or other development measures. Muslims and Dalits — 4.50 lakh voters — have traditionally backed the Congress. There are over six lakh Maratha voters too and they will be a deciding factor,” he mentioned.
This time, the Congress has fielded Vasant Chavan, and the VBA has fielded Avinash Bhosikar from the Lingayat neighborhood, which has round 1.75 lakh voters. “The Lingayats in Nanded have historically aligned with the BJP in Lok Sabha polls. The VBA’s choice of candidate has heightened the BJP’s concerns,” Mr. Kulkarni mentioned.