Tatkare vs Geete again in Raigad: Old battle in new political ground

Of these, the Shiv Sena represents three seats, while the NCP, and BJP and Sena UBT has one seat each. The issues which are being spoken off in the constituency revolve around unemployment, lack of infrastructure, drinking water and electricity supplies issues, farming and tourism among others.

Tatkare, the sitting MP, who is contesting on the ticket of ruling Mahayuti alliance said that he is banking on the development works he has done and his personal network in the constituency along with BJP and Sena’s support base.

Whereas Geete, who is in the fray from the constituency for the eighth time, is banking on the combined votes of MVA and hoping to ride on the sympathy wave for Uddhav Thackeray after split in the Shiv Sena.

As the political equations have changed, it has been to seen if Tatkare, who had been garnering anti-BJP and Shiv Sena votes along with minority votes, will be able retain his traditional voters.

Tatkare, however, feels that Muslim community, which make up for over 8 per cent of the electorate, will continue to vote for him. “The minority community believes in my secularism and so people from the community who were with me for the last 40 years, would continue to remain with me in this election too,” he said.

Another factor that is likely to play a key role in Raigad is the considerable presence of Kunbi community — with a population of around 7 lakh — in the constituency. Geete belongs to the Kunbi community, whereas Tatkare comes from a community which has less presence in the constituency.

On the ground, however, there is a feeling that Tatkare is a preferred candidate owing to his outreach in the region and the “disappearance” of Geete in the party five years.
“Both the candidates are good in terms of their work. But Sunil Tatkare has worked in our area. He has developed beaches in our area owing to which, we have got a source of income and our children do not have to go out of the villages… Also Geete was not visible for the past five years when Raigad had faced several calamities including landslides and two cyclones. He was not seen anywhere helping people. Now suddenly he has appeared here. How to vote for him ?,” asks Santosh Naik from Shrivardhan.

Raigad was hit by a devastating landslide on July 19, 2023 that wiped out the village of Irshalwadi, killing over 80 residents.

Meanwhile, Geete expressed confidence of winning the seat by a margin of over two lakh votes.

Speaking about his campaign and response by the people of Raigad, the Sena UBT candidate said he has won six times because people trust him and his development work.
“If you see the campaigning and the response by the people, you would realise that people themselves have decided to elect me with maximum votes. This time I will emerge victorious by over two lakh votes,” Geete told The Indian Express.