SATARA/SOLAPUR/PUNE: The electoral battle for 58 Assembly seats in Western Maharashtra is being seen as a fight for prestige between the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the BJP , which is trying to give a saffron hue to the Pawar fiefdom.The Congress and Shiv Sena are mostly playing second fiddle to their respective allies in this region. While the BJP campaign is showcasing the achievements of the Fadnavis and Modi regimes, the Opposition is tapping on anti-incumbency issues, including an economic slowdown, rural distress, unemployment and drought, while also keeping an eye on the presence of some rebel candidates in the BJP-Sena fold.Attempts by the BJP to keep Article 370, ‘Savarkar’, and Ayodhya issues on the boil are being viewed as a way to “keep the emotions working”, while it remains to be seen how a reported attack by the army on terror camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on poll eve would play out on voting day Monday.The agrarian region, known for its sugar mills, cooperative banks and industrial centres spanning Kolhapur, Pune, Satara, Sangli, and Solapur, threw up an interesting result in the 2014 Assembly polls, when both the NCP and BJP fought by disengaging from allies.Then, the BJP had signaled its growth in the region by winning 19 seats, followed by NCP (16), Sena (12) and Congress (7), leaving the remaining four to smaller parties.Going by the voting pattern in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls earlier in May, which the BJP-Sena alliance swept against the NCP-Congress, the BJP leads in 20 Assembly segments against NCP’s 15, followed by Sena (17) and Congress (2) and Swabhimani Paksha (4).With the Enforcement Directorate naming Sharad Pawar and nephew Ajit in an alleged cooperative bank scam and the exodus of many NCPCongress leaders to the BJP, the region's election scene was always going to be exciting, with the BJP also highlighting its “Mission 2024” to capture Baramati, known as the stronghold of the Pawars.Pawar senior has not been sitting quiet though. He has launched an aggressive effort — addressing around 60 rallies — to counter Modi-Shah’s active campaigning.Many have viewed this as Pawar’s return to lead the Maharashtra battle, after mostly focusing on national politics since 2004, leaving Ajit Pawar to lead the NCP’s political battle in the state. "Pawar saheb is leading not only the NCP campaign but also of Congress this time. If Western Maharashtra, along with other parts of the State, had witnessed rapid progress due to Pawar saheb's developmental vision...,” said Vandana Chavan, an NCP MP.The BJP has been systematically making inroads into the region, through the Sangh Parivar network.While Modi, riding on the anti-UPA wave, helped the BJP crack the region in 2014, the subsequent assembly election victory in 2014, followed by the 2019 LS poll show, accelerated BJP’s expansionist drive, even though the NCP continues to put up a spirited resistance.

Source: Economic Times October 20, 2019 17:26 UTC