Social engineering at work: Among BJP’s 5 picks for MLC polls, 3 OBCs, Maratha and Dalit faces

Out of the five candidates, three of them — Pankaja, Parinay Phuke and Yogesh Tilekar — represent the Other Backward Caste (OBC), whereas the two others Amit Gorkhe and Sadabhau Khot belong to the Matang (Dalit) and Maratha communities respectively.

The political strategists in BJP revealed, “While shortlisting the five candidates, the party took utmost care to give extra push to OBC candidates and also striking a balance by accommodating one candidate each from the Dalit and Maratha communities.”

A senior BJP functionary, on condition of anonymity, said, “With Assembly polls in October 2024, we had to take into account the caste and regional composition while choosing candidates for the five seats.”

According to sources in the BJP, the party is being cautious to consolidate its vote base among different communities in the wake of the sharp polarisation between the Marathas and OBCs over the issue of reservation.

Pankaja, who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from her home constituency Beed in Marathwada region, was considered on priority by the party.

The BJP’s plan to give Pankaja, the eldest of the three daughters of late Gopinath Munde and a prominent OBC leader, a stake in state politics comes ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state.

Phuke, who is a former minister, also belong to the OBC community and hails from Bhandara in Vidarbha region.

A close confidante of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Phuke lost the 2019 Assembly elections from Sakoli in Bhandara to Congress chief Nana Patole.

He has earlier served as MLC and had contested as an independent corporator for Nagpur Municipal Corporation.

The third OBC face among the candidates, Yogesh Tilekar, was a former MLA from Hadapsar and former mayor of Pune Municipal Corporation.

Tilekar, who has worked in the party’s youth wing Yuva Morcha, is currently the chief of BJP OBC morcha.

Meanwhile, choosing Amit Gorkhe, an active leader from the Matang community, is seen as an attempt by the BJP to send a positive message to Dalits.

The move comes in the wake the party admitting the opposition’s narrative on Constitution and reservation had led to Dalits drifting away from BJP in favour of opposition parties in Maharashtra.

Gorkhe, the former chief of the Annabhau Sathe Mahamandal, runs several educational institutes in Pimpri-Chinchwad in the Western Maharashtra.

BJP has also chosen Sadabhau Khot, the Rayat Kranti Paksha chief, for the MLC post.

A loyal ally BJP since 2014, Khot was made a minister of state in Devendra Fadnavis led government in state.

In 2014, Khot, who belongs to Maratha community, contested from Madha unsuccessfully. Two years later in 2016, he was elected to the state council.

Meanwhile, Congress Monday re-nominated MLC Pradnya Satav as its candidate for the council polls.

In November 2021, Pradyna was elected unopposed to the state legislative council. She is the widow of former Congress MP from Hingoli Rajiv Satav and is also the vice-president of the party’s state unit.

The councils polls are necessitated following the completion of six-year tenure of eleven members across the party lines. In the MLC polls, the members of state legislative Assembly exercise their vote to appoint the candidates.