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Journalism of Courage
In the early 2000s, former MP and farm leader Raju Shetti left the Shetkari Sanghatana, the original farmers’ union founded by Sharad Joshi. This departure caused a significant rift between them. However, as the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024 approach, these rivals have united to protect their core vote base in a struggle for survival.
Lalit Patil, the leader of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is contesting the elections from the Akot Assembly constituency in the Akola district of Maharashtra. He stated that the decision to collaborate with Shetti and others, including former minister Bacchu Kadu of Prahar, Shankar Dhonge, and Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, was made out of necessity.
Patil said this alliance was out of the realisation that they would be the only ones who could understand and work with them. “Had we aligned with either of the two major parties, people would not have forgiven us,” he said.
Shetti, a two-time MP, parted ways with Joshi in the early 2000s due to internal differences. He went on to form his own organisation under the banner of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana. Other than Shetti, leaders like Devendra Bhuyar and Ravikant Tupkar tasted some political success under Shetti’s leadership.
Both Bhuyar and Tupkar have charted their own paths due to their differences over time. The Swabhimani Paksha, the political wing of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, has a few zilla parishad members in Kolhapur and other districts; however, their political influence is clearly diminishing. Shetti himself faced defeat twice in his home constituency of Hatkangale in the Kolhapur district.
During Joshi’s heyday, Shetkari Sanghatana won five Assembly seats in 1990. This success was due to the union effectively navigating caste dynamics and other electoral factors. However, this was the last time the union experienced electoral success, and its influence has since been limited to a few pockets in Vidarbha and Marathwada.
As the elections approached, both warring factions decided to reconcile and unite. A leader from Shetti’s union stated, “We realised that if this conflict continued, our support base would be severely diminished. The space for smaller parties in Maharashtra is quickly disappearing, and if we hadn’t come together, this could have been the last election for many of us.”
Patil acknowledged that differences between the unions exist at an ideological level. “For now, though, we are focused on our common cause,” he stated.
