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Popularly known as the sugar bowl of the state, western Maharashtra, agriculturally rich and with a strong cooperative base, has always played an important role in Maharashtra politics. The region has been dominated for long by Congress and NCP, which control the cooperative sector, be it cooperative sugar factories, cotton mills, dairy and agriculture produce, credit societies or banks. The region is also a favourite destination for the automobile, IT and agriculture industry.
The region comprises five districts — Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur, which fall in Pune revenue division with its headquarters in Pune city. The region is spread over 58,268 sqkm with a population of 2.34 crore and literacy rate of 77 per cent, as per 2011 census.
The main crops of the region are jowar, wheat, bajra, sugarcane, rice, soyabean, onion, groundnut, vegetables, turmeric, grape and pomegranate. The belt is the most developed and populous in the state, fuelled by industrial growth and educational institutes.
It also holds significance due to historical reasons as Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji was born and brought up in the region. He led the formation of Maratha empire Swarajya and its expansion beyond Maharashtra by taking on the Mughals. The direct descendents of the Maratha king are holding the thrones in Kolhapur and Satara. This region is also famous for the reformers Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. The region made a significant contribution to the freedom struggle with Pune serving as a centre for many freedom fighters, including Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, among others.
Of the 19 chief ministers since the formation of the state in 1960, five have come from western Maharashtra — Yashwantrao Chavan from Satara, Vasantdada Patil from Sangli, Sharad Pawar from Pune, Sushilkumar Shinde from Solapur and Prithviraj Chavan from Satara. Current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde represents Thane district but his native place is in Satara district.
Western Maharashtra has 10 Lok Sabha constituencies — Maval, Pune, Baramati, Shirur, Satara, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Kolhapur and Hatkanangle.
Modi wave ends Cong-NCP dominance
The Congress-NCP dominated politics in western Maharashtra by winning eight of the 10 seats in 2004. NCP was the major gainer winning five seats followed by Congress with two seats and one by RPI(A). Shiv Sena and BJP were able to win only one seat each despite contesting in an alliance.
In 2009, the Congress-NCP together won six seats with three each. Shiv Sena won two seats while BJP failed to make inroads in western Maharashtra. It was during the Modi wave in 2014 that BJP had a breakthrough in the region as it won three seats while its alliance partner Shiv Sena retained its two seats. But NCP was the dominant party winning four seats while Congress faced a whitewash. The saffron combine together with Swambhimani Shetkari Sanghatana of Raju Shetti for the first time won six of the 10 seats and made a dent in the Congress-NCP bastion. The Modi wave continued its dominance in 2019 with the saffron alliance winning seven seats: BJP four and Shiv Sena three. NCP won three seats. Congress continued to score a duck for the second consecutive election.
2024 promises to be different
In 2024, it promises to be a fight for every single seat between all the major players. This is exemplified by the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, where NCP led by Ajit Pawar has fielded Sunetra Pawar, who until now remained in the shadows of her husband and was not even known to deliver political speeches. BJP wants to desperately win Baramati as part of its “Mission Maharashtra-45 seats”.
Ajit Pawar, who is eyeing the chief ministerial berth, wants to add weight to his claim by winning Baramati. He wants to unseat none other than his cousin Supriya Sule.
Sule has won the seat thrice but for the first time finds herself in the middle of an unlikely battle: Pawar versus Pawar.
Like Baramati, in Pune, Shirur, Satara, Solapur and Madha, the political heat is rising. In Pune city, Congress has fallen back on Ravindra Dhangekar, who won for the party the prestigious Kasba Peth Assembly seat. The party had the temptation of fielding the likes of Vasant More, who quit MNS and sought its ticket. Congress believes Dhangekar will restore the party’s glory once again and help revitalise it.
BJP too has upped the ante after its “mistake” in Kasba Peth. It has brought former Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol to take on Dhangekar. Both Dhangekar and Mohol were corporators and will suddenly find themselves on the big platform where they will have to prove their mettle.
In Hatkanangle, Uddhav Sena has made a tactical move after Dhairyasheel Mane, sitting MP, jumped to Shinde Sena. It has decided to support Raju Shetti, the farmer leader who lost in the 2019 elections.
In Solapur, while BJP is struggling to find a replacement for its sitting MP, Congress after two solid drubbings in the last elections has gone back to the Shinde family. But this time the more aggressive Shinde family face is to the fore. The party has fielded Praniti Shinde, who was being desperately pursued by BJP. Praniti is known for aggressively raising the development issues of Solapur, a district where BJP has never been able to put its house in order.
In Maval, Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP are at odds with each other. All three are seeking to contest the seat, which has caused a lot of bitterness among the alliance partners. “The Mahayuti is completely divided, we have a chance to win the seat,” said Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut. The party has fielded former NCP leader Sanjog Waghere from the seat.
In Kolhapur, MVA has come up with a strategy to checkmate Mahayuti. It has fielded Shahu Maharaj Chhatrapati, the royal family head of Kolhapur. He will be contesting on a Congress ticket. The party will be contesting the seat for the first time since 1999. Mahayuti is likely to renominate Sanjay Mandalik from Shiv Sena.
Shirur saw a bitter dispute between Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Both wanted to contest the seat. While Ajit Pawar claimed its candidate had won last time, Shinde Sena argued the party has been winning the seat consecutively. BJP then effected a patch-up. Accordingly, Adhalrao of Shinde Sena will contest on an NCP ticket. Ajit Pawar has taken it upon himself to defeat Amol Kolhe, the popular Marathi actor. His uncle Sharad Pawar has decided to lead the campaign himself in Shirur.
Sangli seat has caused fissures between Uddhav Sena and Congress. Both have declared their candidates. The row has gone to the Congress high command. BJP, on the other hand, has refielded Sanjay Kaka Patil. In Satara, Udayanraje Bhosale, descendant of Chhatrapti Shivaji Maharaj, who was defeated in the 2019 elections by Srinivas Patil of NCP, is bent upon again contesting the election. BJP is trying to pacify him by trying to field him on a ticket of Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Udayanraje has, however, refused.
