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Journalism of Courage
Sambhajirao Kakade has made up his mind on Baramati. He will not contest against ‘‘saheb’’ in view of his illness.
The Independent candidate has also appealed to other political parties to elect his archrival, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, unopposed.
In a press statement on Saturday, Kakade said, ‘‘My conscience does not allow me to contest an election against a candidate who will not be campaigning. It will be against my values.’’
Kakade was to decide on Friday on whether he would contest from Baramati. The NCP can now heave a sigh of relief. Though the party’s leaders did not perceive him as a threat, they felt ‘‘he would be an unnecessary irritant for saheb.’’
However, Kakade’s decision is unlikely to bring any relief to Congressmen in Pune. As a third candidate, if Kakade contests the polls from Pune, he will grab a share of Congress votes. His socialist friends and the Congress have been asking him to withdraw from Pune but Kakade is expected to decide after a meeting with supporters on Tuesday.
The Kakade and Pawar families have been political rivals for generations in Baramati constituency. Sambhajirao, who has been at loggerheads with Pawar for three decades, was under pressure from his supporters to contest from Baramati and Pune. He has fought the Lok Sabha election four times in Baramati constituency but won only in 1977. In 1998, prominent lawyer and Sambhajirao’s nephew, Viraj Kakade, fought the election against Sharad Pawar as a united Opposition leader.
