The Congress is banking on 93-year-old Appasaheb alias Satgonda Revgonda Patil (93) to carry the day in Kolhapur’s Shirol constituency.
‘Sa Re Patil’ — as he is affectionately called — is the oldest candidate contesting the Assembly elections on October 15.
“The party has placed its trust in me. I’m confident of a Congress win,” Mr. Patil told The Hindu in an interview.
Seated in the plush environs of the Shree Datta Farmers Sugar Cooperative, of which he is a promoter, this three-time MLA reminisces about his long tryst with socialism.
“S.M. Joshi [freedom fighter and socialist leader] was my mentor. My politics dates back to the days of the Rashtra Seva Dal. It is natural I should veer towards the Congress,” says the nonagenarian.
Contesting as an Independent before the formation of Maharashtra in 1957, Mr. Patil won his very first election. He subsequently fought and won on Congress tickets in 1999 and 2009.
Mr. Patil is a potent figure in Shirol, sited in the heart of the State’s sugar belt.
“The Datta Cooperative tends to the financial and material well-being of 32,000 farmers across the 100-odd villages of Shirol,” says Mr. Patil, remarking, “My aim has always been to give the highest value to the work of a farmer.”
Mr. Patil begins his day at 6.30 in the morning and sets a rigorous 12-hour schedule that would put politicians half his age to shame.
“I plan to begin campaigning in earnest and cover as many villages as possible in my constituency,” he says. Like septuagenarian Congress rebel Vilas Patil Undalkar in South Karad, a strong door-to-door connect is Mr. Patil’s trump card.
But the decision to field Mr. Patil has sparked criticism from the younger lot, namely Anil Yadav, the Congress president of Shirol taluk, and Dilip Patil, chairman of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union. The duo have censured the “old man’s unceasing political ambition.”
Patil vs. Shetti
But the real threat to Mr. Patil emanates from the young and vibrant leadership of Raju Shetti, MP and president of the Swabhimani Paksha. Mr. Shetti, who has a large following in the area, is propping up his close aide, Savkar Madnaik, from Shirol.
The rivalry between Mr. Patil and Mr. Shetti dates back to the 1990s, when Mr. Shetti led a protest against discharge of effluents from Mr. Patil’s paper mill.
Things came to a head in 2003, when Mr. Shetti was beaten up by members of the Datta Sugar Factory during an annual general body meeting after he demanded a higher price for sugarcane farmers.
Since then, Mr. Shetti has tasted electoral success by projecting himself as a common farmer taking on Kolhapur’s powerful sugar barons.
“Each party has its own way of reaching out to the people. He [Raju Shetti] has carved a niche among farmers. The counting on October 19 will make everything clear,” said Mr. Patil, refraining from criticising his nemesis.
