Eight months on,Sangli flare-up lays bare NCP faultlines

Sangli,located in the prosperous western Maharashtra region and known for grape and turmeric production,was once a traditional Congress stronghold. However,thanks to the growth of Pawar’s political interests in the region and the performance of the NCP,the Congress is on a losing wicket in the region. Though the current MP from Sangli (Prakash Patil) is from the Congress,the Assembly elections have seen the Congress influence on the wane. A major blow to the Congress was delivered in the June 2008 Municipal Corporation election, when the NCP formed a non-Congress ‘Maha Aghadi’ of local parties and ended Congress rule. Jayant Patil had played a crucial role in ending Congress dominance in the area.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections due in October last year,the political atmosphere in Sangli had been quite volatile around the time of the Ganesh festival in September. Hence,an altercation over the erection of an arch depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj killing Adilshahi General Afzal Khan culminated in a communal flareup.

In the Assembly polls that followed,Opposition parties —- Shiv Sena and BJP —- made significant gains in the Sangli-Kolhapur belt. The Congress had to pay a heavy political price as the BJP and Sena milked the public ire over the Sangli-Miraj riots.

Employment Guarantee Scheme minister Madan Patil (Congress) who belonged to the erstwhile influential Vasantdada Patil family,was defeated by BJP’s Sambhaji Pawar in Sangli Assembly constituency. Similarly,BJP nominee Suresh Khade who shifted to Miraj after his traditional Jat constituency was dissolved,defeated his Congress rival Balasaheb Honmare. In Ichalkaranji,which falls in the neighbouring Kolhapur district,BJP’s Suresh Halwankar defeated Congress party’s four-time MLA and former minister for Textiles Prakash Awade.

It was after SP Prakash’s allegations against Bagwan,the former mayor of Sangli-Miraj Kupwad municipal corporation,on the eve of his transfer from Sangli to Ahmednagar on June 7,that all hell broke loose. Bagwan is a close associate of Jayant Patil and had played a major role in bringing together smaller parties to form the NCP-led coalition in the Municipal Corporation election. Bagwan who had initially gone underground,surrendered to the police on Sunday and has been remanded to police custody. Prakash’s allegation and Bagwan’s subsequent arrest is being seen as a strategic move by Jayant Patil’s detractors within the party,since both the Patils are vying with each other to establish supremacy in the region.

While Jayant Patil has admitted that Bagwan is a supporter,he has demanded a thorough inquiry into the issue,particularly the reason Prakash chose to come out with the allegations eight months after the riots.

Tukaram Gawli,sampark pramukh for Sangli,said that the entire episode seemed to be politically motivated. “It seems like the police were under political pressure. If the police knew all along that Bagwan was involved,then why did they not take action earlier? Why did he (Prakash) choose to talk when he was leaving this town?” he questioned.

Meanwhile,the NCP is trying to downplay the issue. While Home Minister R R Patil said a couple of days ago that all the accused would be brought to book,another senior cabinet minister accused the police of overstepping their mandate. “It is a baseless allegation that the rivalry between Jayant Patil and R R Patil has resulted in the present state of affairs,” State NCP chief Madhukar Pichad told The Indian Express.