Setback for Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana as Maharashtra chief quits

With the assembly election just round the corner, the Sanghatana is fighting an uphill task, with its leader, former MP Raju Shetti, increasingly finding it difficult to maintain political relevance.

MP Raju Shetti along with former chairman of Textile Development Board Ravikant Tupkar at Pune’ Market yard. (Express Photo by Sandip Daundkar)

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana suffered a major jolt on Friday as its state president Ravikant Tupkar decided to part ways with it. Tupkar, the former chairman of the State Handloom and Textile Corporation, was one of many senior leaders who have left the farmers’ union in recent days.

With the assembly election just round the corner, the Sanghatana is fighting an uphill task, with its leader, former MP Raju Shetti, increasingly finding it difficult to maintain political relevance. An offshoot of Shetkari Sanghatana, which was founded by legendary farmer leader Sharad Joshi, the farmers’ union has been active in state level-politics since its inception. Shetti was elected twice to Parliament from the Hatkanangale constituency in Kolhapur district.

The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana’s main support base comprises cane growers in western Maharashtra. The Sanghatana was once a serious force to reckon with, given its clout in cane-growing areas. Shetti and the Sanghatana have often clashed with powerful sugar barons in the region while demanding better payment for cane farmers. Shetti’s popularity among cane workers transcended caste equations in electoral politics, as Maratha farmers voted overwhelmingly for the Jain leader.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Shetti defeated senior NCP leader Nivedita Mane, and in the 2014 polls he defeated senior Congress leader Kallappa Awade. In the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shetti severed his ties with BJP-led NDA while his one-time trusted lieutenant, Sadabhau Khot, was expelled from the organisation. Khot later floated a rival organisation. Other senior leaders also left the farmers’ union and in a final blow, Shetti lost the Hatkanangale Lok Sabha seat to Sena leader Dhairyasheel Mane.