Underpinning latest friction in Congress, a district controlled by the Thorats and Vikhe-Patils, their rivalry

Ahmednagar’s politics is mainly controlled by the Vikhe-Patils and the Thorats. India’s first cooperative sugar mill was founded in Pravaranagar by VItthalrao Vikhe-Patil. While the Vikhe-Patil family has switched sides multiple times, at present, both Radhakrishna and his son Dr Sujay are with the BJP. The senior Vikhe-Patil in fact was the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly when his son had rebelled and joined BJP before the 2019 elections. The rift between the Vikhe-Patil family and Congress had stemmed from Dr Sujay’s desire to contest the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat, which was with the NCP. Till the last moment, the Congress leadership had failed to convince the NCP to part with the seat, which lead to Dr Sujay joining the BJP. Subsequently, the senior Vikhe Patil too joined the BJP and, after the fall of the MVA government, is now a senior minister in the Shinde-Fadnavis government.

Balasaheb Thorat, the present leader of Congress in the state Assembly, on the other hand, has always been with the Congress. Tambe, while filing his nomination as an Independent in the recent MLC bypoll, had criticised the Congress leadership in Maharashtra for their failure to address what he said were his “just ambitions”. Now, Thorat, has now thrown in his resignation from the post of Leader of Congress in the house, training his guns against the state Congress leadership. BJP state president Chandrashekhar Babankhule has given a cautious welcome to “people who wish to join the BJP”, but given the strong animosity the Thorats have with the Vikhe-Patils, this looks unlikely.

Satyajeet Tambe, the newly elected MLC, is not Thorat’s only nephew in politics. However, unlike Tambe, they are with other parties. Thus, Rajeev Rajale, the husband of Monika Rajale, the BJP MLA from Shevgaoan Pathardi, is another nephew of Thorat.

The other political families in the district, like the Gadakhs, Ghule Patils, Jagtaps, Murkutes, et al, have switched sides between the Vikhe-Patil and Thorat groups. While they remain related through marriage, this has not prevented them from pitching their fortunes against each others. Thus, Sangram Jagtap, the NCP MLA from Ahmednagar City is married to the daughter of Shivajirao Kardile, the former BJP MLA from Rahuri constituency of the district. With close relations and links to the sugar sector, the politics of Ahmednagar is mostly a family matter.