Meet Raju Shetti, a farmer leader who plans to plough through BJP

Last year, the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, led by Shetti, became the first NDA constituent to part ways

Raju Shetti, the Lok Sabha MP from Hatkanangle in Maharashtra, has many firsts to his credit. His first election to the Assembly from Shirol in 2004 was fought through the campaign of “one note, one vote” by supporters in the sugar belt of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara in western Maharashtra.

It was possibly the first instance of a farmer leader making an entry into the state politics by raising donations — from Rs 1 to Rs 100 — showing his links with the grassroots.

Ten years later, his aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014