Parties pull out all stops to woo bidi workers

SOLAPUR, JULY 29: A tug of war is on among the three Bidi Kamgar Unions to gain the sympathy and the strength of more than 50 thousand Bi...

SOLAPUR, JULY 29: A tug of war is on among the three Bidi Kamgar Unions to gain the sympathy and the strength of more than 50 thousand Bidi workers who play important role in the elections of Lok Sabha and the Assembly in the city. Till few months ago the Communist Party of India and the CPI(M) used to control the total textile and bidi workers in the city, but now the Maharashtra Kamgar Sena, a workers unit of Shiv Sena, has posed a threat to both the unions and come as a black horse in the dark.

The CPM MLA Adam Master, known for his fire brand speech, enjoyed the total power in the party since for two decades and worked with loyalty for the cause of the bidi rolers and the textile workers. As a result he was elected to the State Assembly from the South Solapur constituency in the last election on the full support of the workers strength. Just a weks ago, Adam has come forward with a package of 10,000 houses for the bidi workers with an estimate to the tune of Rs. 65 crore which he claimed is the largest housing project in Asia.

Keeping in mind that the Assembly elections are just few weeks ahead, he didn’t forget to give it wide publicity and arranged a huge meeting of thousands of crowd in the presence of national leaders like P.K. Ganguli, Ahilya Rangnekar and others. Many termed it nothing but an act of flaunting his strength to voters. Adam during his speech couldn’t hide his main purpose behind the meeting and made the bidi workers aware that if they failed to re-elect him as an MLA from the South Solapur constituency, then he will not give the guarantee about the completion of the housing project. The hidden threat to the bidi workers during the speech, however, gave a handle to his rival to defame him.

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According to political analysts, it was due to the fear created by his rivals and other aspirant candidates of different parties to contest against him that Adam was so restless. Besides, there was slight opposition seen from his own friends. The bidi and the textile factory owners have always found a threat in Adam. And they were always looking out for an opportunity to give him a shock. The owners gave hidden support to the MKS Secretary Vishnu Karampuri who within no time cut Adam into size and got overwhelming response from the workers community.

Vishnu Karampuri, a Shiv Sainik and a Telugu speaking person has launched a housing project for the bidi workers. The housing project has been named after Meena Saheb Thackeray and its first phase will have 1352 houses while the second phase will have 4000 houses. Though, the Kamgar Sena has spread its wings under the leadership of Vishnu Karampuri, the convention was so overpacked with the bidi workers that the Adam magic was seen vanishing.

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