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The sugar belt in Maharashtra is set to see a bitter fight during elections, scheduled on April 17. The ruling Congress-National Congress Party (NCP) combine in the state would make an all-out effort to weather a possible anti-incumbency wave.
The saffron alliance is geared up to cash in on the Narendra Modi card in 12 constituencies: Maval, Pune, Baramati, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Hatkanangale.
The western and southern parts of the state have several cooperative bodies, including sugar factories. Corruption and scams in the operations of these organisations and intra-group rivalries have been a major cause of worry for the ruling alliance. The saffron alliance — the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , the Republican Party of India, the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and the Rashtriya Samaj Party — is promising to expose these irregularities and cleanse the cooperative movement. Recent hailstorms and untimely rainfall in several villages and problems with the implementation of relief package have posed a serious challenge for the ruling alliance.
Of the 170-plus cooperative sugar factories in the state, 108 are in western and southern Maharashtra. Of the 70 private units, 62 units are in this region. These contribute more than 75 per cent of the sugar production of the state. The region also houses a large number of cooperative banks, agricultural societies, milk dairies, poultries and horticultural units. This apart, the region had emerged as a hub for automobile, automobile component and information technology companies.
The NCP and the Congress have control over most of the agricultural units. But the Shiv Sena-BJP combine boast of having made inroads. The Congress-NCP and the Shiv Sena-BJP are looking to mobilise support from the politically influential Marathas, Other Backward Classes, the Dhangars, Muslims and Dalits.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar was said to be paying special attention to ensure his bastion remains intact. This polls will not see Pawar in the fray as he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in February this year.
In Baramati, his daughter Supriya Sule is pitted against Rashtriya Samaj Party chief Mahadev Jankar. Aam Aadmi Party has fielded former police officer Suresh Khopde.
Congress is also taking efforts to ensure victory. Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde had to change his plans to retire from elective politics after the high command’s diktat. He is seeking re-election from Solapur. The BJP is targetting Shinde for lack of progress in Solapur, where residents get drinking water once in five days.
Maharashtra’s former deputy chief minister and sugar baron Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil will face Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sadabhau Khot in Madha. He will also have to contest against his younger brother, Pratapsinh Mohite-Patil, who is contesting as an independent.
During the 2009 polls, of the 12 seats, six were bagged by Congress and NCP while four by Shiv Sena and BJP, two by an independent and the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana. Congress-NCP combine is struggling to put up a unity show while Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has no choice but to take aggressive posture against the former.
According to the state cooperation department and these parties, an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore had gone into the development of the cooperative units since the founding of Maharashtra in 1960.
