Voters want Shinde to do a Pawar in Solapur

Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has competition not so much from his Shiv Sena rival Shivajirao Pise, but from Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.

The problem lies within his constituency. Solapur, which was once an industrial hub with yarn mills, textile mills and over 15 big sugar factories, is now an industrial wasteland.

A series of crippling strikes in the 1990s and irregular supply of cotton from Gujarat forced the big factories and mills to shut shop.

And this is where Pawar comes into the picture. The impressive industrial development of Baramati, Pawar's not-so-fortunate constituency, is something the locals hold in awe.

Vilasrao Patil, a mill owner and textile merchant, said Shinde has a thing or two to learn from Pawar. "Look at Solapur. It is on the border of Andhra and Karnataka, on the cross-roads of important highways and has good rail connectivity. Yet, we have not managed to attract good investment. Pawar, on the other hand, has worked wonders in a backward area like Baramati," he said.

Shinde's wife Ujjwala Shinde, who lost to Shiv Sena's Subhash Deshmukh in the last Lok Sabha polls, said the problems will be sorted out after the polls.

"Shindeji has announced a proposal for a Rs 500-crore garment park to revive the local industry. Now that there is a Congress-led government at the Centre, it will be easier to get funds," she said.

The fact that the same party is in power in the state as well as the Centre is turning out to be a potent enticement. "Shindeji was chief minister for just a year-and-a-half. If re-elected, Solapur has a better chance now than ever to go back to its glory days," said Ravi Deshpande, a local Congress worker.

This year's timely rains, the first in almost four years, have also cooled tempers a bit.

Demographically, the numbers back Shinde. Solapur Taluk (south) has 1,81,000 voters, of which 30 per cent are Lingayats, who have traditionally gone with the Congress. Other major castes include the OBS Dhangars and Muslims, who constitute 5 per cent.

Shinde, who visited Solapur for the first time on Friday after filing his papers, will have to assure his constituency that he is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Difficult task, if your competition is from home.