Mumbai: Marathwada is the most sought-after region for the ruling alliance in entire Maharashtra. Here, out of eight Lok Sabha seats, the ruling Shiv Sena, led by Mahayutin and that too Shinde, got only one seat. The remaining seven seats were taken by the opposition Aghadi. It is believed that Manoj Jarange Patil’s reservation movement had an impact on the Lok Sabha elections. This time, after the announcement of fielding the candidate, Manoj Jarange withdrew his name at the last moment. Whether this factor would be as effective is controversial. However, apart from the caste calculation of reservation, issues like severe water scarcity, farmer suicides and lack of development work even after decades have become a major challenge for the ruling coalition.
Marathwada, me.ng ‘home of the Marathi-speaking people’, was a large area occupied by the Marathi-speaking population during the rule of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Marathwada was then merged into the then Bombay State.
The Marathwada region of Maharashtra is larger than some Indian states and some European countries, however, the region has been neglected for decades and is often in the news in the context of Maathi incidents.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, undivided Shiv Sena won four seats and BJP won three seats, while in the year 2024, Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM won one seat, however, BJP failed to win even a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde won one seat. On the other hand, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won seven seats. Like Congress – 3 seats, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) – three seats and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) one seat.
Political circles believe that the party in Marathwada can convince the farmers to resolve their issues. Here, farmers growing cotton, soybean and other crops do not get fair prices. Farmers are constantly burdened with debt. The suicide rate of farmers here is very high in proportion to the population in the whole of India.
Earlier, Gopinath Mund had created a good influence for BJP from Beed. After his death, his daughter Pritam Munde continued to win here. But in the last election, BJP had given ticket to his sister and former state minister Pankaja Munde in place of Pritam, but she lost due to casteist mathematics.
This time his cousin Dhananjay Munde is contesting from Parli from NCP (AP). In 2019, Dhananjay defeated Pankaja, however, they have now compromised, said a former BJP leader. On the other hand, in Latur city, Congress party MLA and former Chief Minister’s son Amit Deshmukh is contesting against the son-in-law of former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil-Chakurkar. Archana is with Patil-Chakurkar. The Bollywood star and his brother Reyesh Deshmukh are campaigning for Amit Deshmukh and their meetings are drawing crowds due to the allure of filmy glamour.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s daughter Srijaya Chavan is contesting from BJP from Bhokar seat. Which was earlier represented by his father, mother Amita Chavan and late grandfather Shankarrao Chavan. To achieve success on the difficult pitch of Marathwada, BJP has made Ashok Chavan a member of Rajya Sabha by entering the party. But, he could not do anything special in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Local residents say that Marathwada has given many leaders. But, after getting elected they forget the local issues. Despite the announcement of many irrigation schemes, the water problem here is severe. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar gets water once in ten days. The situation is even worse in rural areas. Under these circumstances, the Mahayuti could not rest easy relying only on the resentment of the Marathas. On the issue of farmers and water, he will have to present concrete plans to attract votes.
