In drought-prone Madha, Naik Nimbalkar makes irrigation his pitch amid resentment over BJP’s tie-up with Ajit Pawar

In the same election rally, seated next to Naik Nimbalkar is the sitting Karmala MLA Sanjay Shinde, a close confidante of Ajit Pawar and who was NCP candidate against Naik Nimbalkar in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the rally, Naik Nimbalkar confidently says that with the support of other Mahayuti members, he will win the seat.

The banner behind Naik Nimbalkar prominently displays his main slogan in Marathi– Ekach Mission, Madha Sinchan (One Mission, Madha Irrigation)–a clear attempt to appeal voters from the highly drought-prone and predominantly rural and semi urban constituency of Madha. 47-year-old Naik Nimbalkar, who belongs to the royal family of Phaltan, is pitted against BJP turncoat Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil, who joined NCP (SP) after being denied ticket by the BJP. Dhairyasheel, who belongs to the politically strong Mohite Patil family from Akluj, is the nephew of former deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil and cousin of BJP legislator Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil.

“Dhairyasheel’s exit from BJP is also expected to negatively affect Naik Nimbalkar’s voter base requiring him to tap other voter groups to fill up the gap. PM Modi’s rally for the constituency will play a role but on the other hand Sharad Pawar is also expected to hold rallies in each of the six assembly seats,” said a businessman and political worker from Karmala.

Naik Nimbalkar was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019 by defeating NCP’s Sanjay Shinde, ending the two-term hold of NCP in the constituency. Before Naik Nimbalkar, the seat was held by NCP stalwart Vinaysinh Mohite Patil (2014) and NCP chief Sharad Pawar (2009) himself. Prior to joining the BJP in 2019, Naik Nimbalkar was a member of the Congress. His father, late Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar, was a member of the 11th Lok Sabha from the Shiv Sena.

The Madha Lok Sabha constituency comprises six assembly seats — Karmala, Madha, Sangola and Malshiras from Solapur district and Phaltan and Man from Satara district. A large portion of these areas are drought-prone.

Speaking to Express minutes before his Karmala rally, Naik Nimbalkar said, “Madha constituency is drought-prone. In the last Lok Sabha election, we sought votes with a promise of a solution to this issue. And we have delivered on it. For example, in Phaltan, we have obtained a nod for Nira Deoghar project for Rs 4,000 crore and tenders of Rs 1,500 crore are out. The ambitious Dhom Balkawadi tunnel project work is soon to be concluded. We have also worked out and implemented a fair redistribution of water among the drought-prone areas. The day I became the MP, I started working with MLAs and leaders and across the party lines for the betterment of the area.

When asked about the employment and business opportunities for the large young population in predominantly rural and semi urban areas, Naik Nimbalkar said, “On this front, we are in the final stages of setting up an automobile industrial hub in Phaltan and a National Industrial Corridor in Man and Malshiras. These clusters will bring significant investments and in turn employment opportunities. Having said this, the primary policy is to create an ecosystem in which agriculture and allied businesses remain the primary employment generator in the rural areas. And this includes irrigation, seeds and fertilisers availability, storage and processing infrastructure, education and training facilities towards it and an encompassing economy model for all this. I am firm on stopping the migration from villages to cities. We say India is in its villages and I want to bring opportunities to our villages. When I prepared for the last election, I studied by heart the economic and human geography of the constituency. I plan to build on the work I have already done for the constituency while doing my duties as the MP in Lok Sabha.”

When asked about the impact of splits in Shiv Sena and NCP and the realignment of their factions with the BJP, Naik Nimbalkar said, “We are strategising separately for each of the six assembly seats. Considering both national aspirations and local development needs in each of these areas, we are working on local electoral equations for each of the six seats.”

Bhushan Thite, a local farmer from Karmala, who is also a folk theatre artist, said, “With media and access to social media, the voters of all ages are more aware of political games taking place at state and national level. The politics of dividing parties and realigning leaders leaves voters with no confidence in any of the candidates.”