Amol Khatal seeks to oust Sangamner MLA Balasaheb Thorat from his constituency of decades

Khatal, however, lashed out at the “atmosphere of dadagiri (bullying) and dahshat (terror)” in Sangamner.

In the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024, the Shiv Sena candidate is confident of breaking Thorat’s run as an MLA and makes it a point to meet the beneficiaries of the Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana.

“Over a lakh women are beneficiaries of the government’s Ladki Bahin scheme. I have their blessings,” a confident Khatal said and added that they managed to enlist more than 20,000 senior citizens to avail of financial assistance under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana.

“This constituency has seen enough of the intimidating and terrorising tactics of Thorat and his workers,” Khatal said, adding that the issue of water shortage had not been addressed. Daily more than 30 water tankers supply drinking water in some of the villages, he said. There is also unemployment, according to the Shiv Sena candidate.

Khatal said he wanted to set up an industrial colony for promoting employment. He has switched over from the Congress to take on Thorat.

The political rivalry between Thorat and Vikhe-Patil is an old one with both the leaders keen on making their presence felt in Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar). The Vikhe-Patils and Thorat built their political foundations by exerting influence over sugar factories and educational establishments in Ahmednagar. Then they supported different factions within the Congress.

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil resigned as a Congress MLA and joined the BJP in 2019 after his son Sujay Vikhe-Patil was denied a Lok Sabha election ticket. Sujay was elected as BJP MP for Ahmednagar in 2019 but failed to get re-elected in 2024. This time, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who is the Mahayuti candidate in Shirdi, had sought a ticket for his son from Sangamner. However, with the Mahayuti selecting Khatal for the seat, the Vikhe-Patils are lending their might to get him elected from the constituency, which has been dominated by Thorat for several decades.

Thorat, who was in Pune recently, said there is no substitute for sincere and hard work. “We have worked consistently for the people’s welfare and hence the results are there for everyone to see,” he said.

The Congress leader also expressed disappointment with the coarse tone of election speeches, stating that the BJP was running an inappropriate campaign.

When asked about rumours that Thorat might be eyeing the chief minister’s position in the event of a Maha Vikas Aghadi victory, the seasoned leader responded that it was not what mattered in the November 20 elections. “We must work together to ensure that all our MVA candidates succeed,” he said.