For visibility and rural votes, KCR treads the pilgrim’s path in Maharashtra

The pilgrimage is a major part of the calendar for people in rural Maharashtra. For long, it has been a tradition for farmers across the state to gon the pilgrimage after sowing kharif crops during the onset of monsoon in June. It is also so crucial politically that politicians across the ideological spectrum often participate in the pilgrimage, with some of them walking hundreds of kilometres along with other devotees. Almost all MPs and MLAs in the state lend logistical support for those walking to Pandharpur through the hilly terrain of western Maharashtra. The CM of the state performs the Ashadi Ekadashi puja.

Though BRS leaders officially maintain that KCR’s visit to the temple town is “not a political event”, the visibility it accords to the Telangana CM and his party cannot be disregarded. The BRS has placed farmers’ welfare front and centre as it attempts to expand in Maharashtra, with “Abki baar kisaan sarkar (this time, a government for farmers)” as its rallying cry. The BRS is systematically working to make inroads across Vidarbha, Marathawada, and west Maharashtra by projecting its pro-farmer “Telangana Model” complete with promises of free electricity and water. Last month, KCR announced a month-long programme to expand BRS’ network in more than 45,000 villages in Maharashtra’s urban civic bodies.

While the Shiv Sena and the BJP have welcomed KCR’s visit, the MVA has hit out at the Telangana CM and his party.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday told reporters in Pandharpur that the BRS had no other intention in Maharashtra other than trying to hurt the MVA’s prospects and divide votes. “He has never visited Pandharpur in the last eight-nine years as the chief minister or when he was a minister in Andhra Pradesh and a minister at the Centre. KCR is a personal friend, but he has to decide against whom we are fighting,” he said, adding that the BRS would have no impact in Maharashtra.

State Congress president Nana Patole also targeted Telangana’s ruling party. “The BRS is the B team of the BJP. The BRS is being fielded in Maharashtra to play the role of dividing secular votes. But it will not happen. The people have seen the hidden agenda of the BJP.”