How independent 'rebels' are queering the pitch in Maharashtra

  • | Tuesday | 16th April, 2019

Former Shiv Sena MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure is fighting as an independent against incumbent Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande and Bhausaheb Kamble (Congress) in Shirdi. Let us take the example of Dr Suhas Natawadkar, who is contesting as an independent against Dr Heena Gavit of the BJP from Nandurbar. Kokate's rebellion also has an undercurrent of local rivalry between the Shiv Sena and BJP. Similarly, former Shiv Sena MLA Harshvardhan Jadhav has split from his party and is contesting as an independent against Chandrakant Khaire (Sena), who is vying for his fifth successive term. Rebel Congress MLA Abdul Sattar has also withdrawn his nomination.

How much does rebellion matter in an election? It can end up disturbing poll arithmetic of parties. Rebel or independent candidates, who went on to fight polls independently after being put down by their parties, have an ability to upset the apple-cart for mainstream parties. Let us take the example of Dr Suhas Natawadkar, who is contesting as an independent against Dr Heena Gavit of the BJP from Nandurbar. Natawadkar, who has unsuccessfully fought the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha polls against Manikrao Gavit from the erstwhile Congress bastion, which finally fell to the BJP in 2014, said he is representing BJP's loyalists who resent the growing influence of newbies in the district. In 2014, the BJP had weaned away Heena and her father Dr Vijaykumar Gavit from the NCP. "For five years, veteran party workers have been sidelined. I am contesting to voice their anger," said Natawadkar, an RSS worker and former medico, whose father Jayant, was an MLA from 1946-51 and later an MP from the constituency. Similarly, former Shiv Sena MLA Harshvardhan Jadhav has split from his party and is contesting as an independent against Chandrakant Khaire (Sena), who is vying for his fifth successive term. The presence of three Hindu candidates—Khaire, Subhash Zhambad (Congress) and Jadhav may work to the advantage of the AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel, in a constituency known for communal polarisation. Rebel Congress MLA Abdul Sattar has also withdrawn his nomination. In Dhule, the BJP is contending with similar trouble—a rebellion by its MLA Anil Gote, who has filed his nomination against union minister of state Dr Subhash Bhamre, which may prove to be advantageous for Congress candidate Kunal Patil. NCP leaders claim former Sinnar MLA turned Manikrao Kokate's decision to fight as an independent in Nashik, may help the NCP's Sameer Bhujbal. In 2014, Sameer, then MP and nephew of former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, had lost to the Sena's Hemant Godse. Sameer's supporters claim Kokate, a Maratha like Godse, may take a chunk of these votes and ensure that their leader, who is an OBC Mali (gardener), may sail through. Kokate, a Shiv Sena MLA from Sinnar, who shifted to the Congress and later BJP, said he was contesting as an alternative to established politicians and considered Sameer as his main adversary. Kokate's rebellion also has an undercurrent of local rivalry between the Shiv Sena and BJP. Former Shiv Sena MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure is fighting as an independent against incumbent Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande and Bhausaheb Kamble (Congress) in Shirdi. In 2014, Wakchaure defected to the Congress and lost to Lokhande. In Ahmednagar, where the leader of the opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son Dr Sujay is contesting against the NCP's Sangram Jagtap, Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) activist Sanjiv Bhor is an independent. The MKM had organised a series of silent morchas since 2016 for demands like quotas in jobs and education. The protests had turned violent last year. "The state government did not fulfil many of its commitments given to us then. Cases were lodged against protestors to make an example of those fighting for social causes," said Bhor. FACE-OFF Nashik Hemant Godse (Shiv Sena) vs Sameer Bhujbal (NCP) Independent: Manikrao Kokate Dhule Dr Subhash Bhamre (BJP) vs Kunal Patil (Congress) Independent: Anil Gote Ahmednagar Dr Sujay Vikhe Patil (BJP) vs Sangram Jagtap (NCP) Independent: Sanjiv Bhor Nandurbar Dr Heena Gavit (BJP) vs K.C Padvi (Congress) Independent: Dr Suhas Natawadkar Aurangabad Chandrakant Khaire (Shiv Sena) vs Subhash Zhambad (Congress) vs Imtiaz Jaleel (AIMIM) Independent: Harshavardhan Jadhav Shirdi

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