No Sena (UBT) presence in Sangli; I am the right choice if you want to oust BJP: Patil

In the previous election, I had to contest as Swabhimani Paksh candidate due to seat-sharing issues. We brought down BJP’s vote share from 58 per cent to 42 per cent. However, I lost the election as voters committed to our family were unhappy about me contesting on a ticket from another party instead of Congress. This time, I am not repeating the mistake and contesting as an Independent, if not from Congress, and not as any other candidate.

📌 What advantages do you have now?

Our core votes will remain intact as I am contesting as an Independent. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) bagging three lakh votes in 2019 had influenced the outcome, but this time they are supporting me.

📌 How do you see the challenge of defeating sitting BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil who had wrested the city from the Congress in 2014 and dented its bastion?

There is much unrest within the local BJP unit over giving candidature to sitting MPs. The local BJP cadre will stand by me in the current situation, which will be an additional benefit for me. The BJP struggled to find a candidate for Sangli and was compelled to repeat sitting MPs for a third time.

Sena (UBT) insisted on contesting from Sangli and has fielded wrestler Chandrahar Patil as its candidate. How will it affect the outcome?

BJP won the seat with support from the Sena vote bank in the past. Now after the split in Sena, and Uddhav has parted ways with BJP. This will split the Sena vote, with most likely Sena (UBT) poaching BJP voters. This will be my gain.

📌 Won’t it affect your performance as Sena (UBT) is projected as an MVA candidate?

I don’t think he will eat into my votes. Chandrahar is a weak candidate. One can see how people stood up against the idea of giving away the strong Congress seat. The presence of Congress leaders on the MVA stage to campaign for Sena (UBT) might look confusing to the public but it is not seen at the ground level. In fact, the Sena has less or no presence in Sangli – whatever it had was due to alignment with the BJP. So there is no issue for me.

📌 Isn’t it a triangular fight?

It is a straight fight between me and the BJP. I am saying this because Sena (UBT) is nowhere in the picture while BJP has managed to create its vote bank by fooling people in the past. I don’t think BJP will succeed in fooling voters again. Moreover, people of the constituency feel very let down by sitting MPs.

📌 Will it not make a difference to you if you are seen as the urban face and a BJP candidate as the rural face?

This is not true. Our family has a tradition of working for farmers. I have personally taken out many protests for farmers. The BJP candidate has lived more in the city than the village, so he has less impact in rural areas and similarly in urban areas. I had more votes from rural areas than urban areas last year. And now the urban voters, who i had lost , will stand by me this time.

📌 Why should anyone vote for you?

Voters have realised the need for Congress ideology and no one better than me represents it, even though I am contesting as an Independent candidate.

📌 What plans do you have for Sangli’s development?

I am from Sangli and understand its issues and needs. We have a legacy in politics. The city needs a proper development plan that will promote industries to bring in employment. The BJP MP has failed to do anything for people and has never even spoken in the Parliament. The major issue in the area is water for irrigation, and our family including my grandfather, father, and brother have been continuously working to resolve it. As an MP, I will also raise the issue of reservation for Marathas and Dhangars at the Centre.
People have realised that development and justice to all can only be brought about by the Congress. BJP has been dividing society on religious lines to hide their failure.

📌 What is lacking in Sangli that you want to get done?

Sangli needs an airport to provide rapid connectivity to the world and a dry port to promote manufacturing business. The city’s infrastructure is crumbling due to excessive migration from rural to urban areas, but facilities to cater to their needs are not being created at the same pace. We have skilled manpower due to it being a good educational sector, but there is also a need to ensure employment to skilled students.