WHEN Amol Kolhe arrived this morning for election campaigning, a better part of Kondhwa area nearly came to a grinding halt. It seemed like the candidate in Amol Kolhe had taken a backseat and the popular actor that he is, had become the cynosure of all eyes.
“I have seen him only on television, this is the first time, I am seeing him right in front of me…I am delighted,” said Chandbai Rathod, a resident of Shivneri Nagar in Kondhwa. “We have six members in our family and we all want to vote for him. He is our favourite actor,” the homemaker asserted without being asked about her voting preference and with a smile writ large on her face. It showed the admiration that Kolhe enjoys, more as an actor than an MP.
The woman was not alone. There were several citizens, including both men, women and children, who stepped out of their homes in the blistering heat as Kolhe’s cavalcade blaring music eulogising him “Punha Kolhe Khaasdar” moved around the Kondhwa area.
Those who did not want to step out of their homes tried to capture a smiling and waving Kolhe, the NCP (SP) sitting MP, on their cellphones from their balconies.
Kolhe’s rally took off from the office of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Mahadev Babar in Kondhwa gaothan where a large number of Sainiks had gathered. The rally was to start at 9 am but was delayed due to Kolhe’s previous day’s engagements. “We returned home late night and therefore there was a delay in starting the rally today,” said one of his relatives.
Kolhe was joined by NCP (SP) city chief Prashant Jagtap and some local Congress leaders. As the rally took off with Kolhe sporting a colourful headgear waving to the crowd from a bullock-cart, in no time, traffic was disrupted but the police quickly managed to push the rally ahead.
Be it the young, old, the ailing or the common man on the street, they all stopped in their tracks to see Kolhe. Some rushed forth to shake hands, some tried to put shawls around him, some offered bottles of drinking water. And then there were the sugarcane juice vendors, who also rushed forth with glasses of cane juice the moment the rally arrived near their stalls. “I don’t know how many glasses of juice I gave to Kolhe and his team… Don’t ask me… I am happy to see him in our area,” said Suresh Rawde.
Besides being a sitting MP from Shirur Lok Sabha constituency, Kolhe is a popular Marathi actor. He is most admired for his role as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
In the 2019 elections, Kolhe as a candidate of undivided NCP had defeated three-time sitting MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil of undivided Shiv Sena. This time, Kolhe is in Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Adhalrao is in NCP led by Ajit Pawar. Like the Baramati Lok Sabha contest, Shirur is also witnessing a bitter battle with both the candidates having verbal volleys almost every day.
Kondhwa is a Muslim-dominated area. And the Muslim community was out in sizeable number to welcome Kolhe. As Kolhe arrived in Mithanagar area, Shamim Pathan, an activist, rushed to drape a shawl around him. As Kolhe bent down from his vehicle, he was told of the support he enjoys in the area.
Farid Sayeed, who was busy cleaning his autorickshaw, suddenly stopped to wave at Kolhe. “I will vote for him, there is no doubt about it,” he told this paper. Several Muslims youths danced before his vehicle, captured his image on their cellphones or moved with the cavalcade on two-wheelers.
Toussif Hai Farooq Shaikh, an AIMIM leader who also runs Meem Social Foundation, extended support to Kolhe. After a brief interaction with Kolhe at his home, Shaikh said, “Kondhwa has around 60,000 Muslim voters. And I am sure most of them will vote for him. Kolhe is respected and admired for his ideology, his views and his thoughts. Everyone speaks highly of the way he takes up people’s issues in the Lok Sabha.”
Sainiks belonging to Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena also participated in a big way in the rally. In fact, Sena UBT leader Mahadev Babar was in the forefront of the rally. Scores of Sainiks waved the party’s saffron flag enthusiastically.
Kolhe was in Uddhav Sena before the 2019 elections. He had quit and joined NCP upsetting the Sena rank and file. Ajit Pawar had then roped him in NCP to fight against Adhalrao-Patil who had been consistently winning from Shirur. Kolhe lived up to Ajit Pawar’s expectations, defeating Adhalrao.
However, after NCP’s split, Ajit Pawar tried to take Kolhe along with him. But he preferred to stay with Sharad Pawar, who, he says, is like a father to him. Ajit Pawar has vowed to defeat Kolhe. The Deputy CM has been taunting Kolhe that he has been acting and enjoying his celebrity status and functioning less as an MP. “My voters know everything what I have done for the constituency. They will give a befitting reply,” he said.
Reacting to the Deputy CM’s attack on him, Kolhe said, “Ajit Pawar is targeting a farmer’s son. If he thinks he is a brave man, then he should show his bravery before Delhi. I have not mortgaged my self-respect before Delhi. Is it a mistake to raise farmers issues and problems of the common man in Parliament? I don’t think I have committed any mistake.”
Kolhe’s rally took off from the office of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Mahadev Babar in Kondhwa gaothan where a large number of Sainiks had gathered. (Arul Horizon) 
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