In his first joint rally in five years with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at Ausa in Latur district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him his younger brother. The gesture was obvious to many as the crowds, largely consisting of Sena workers, were ecstatic.
Ausa, although a part of Latur district, falls under Osmanabad Lok Sabha constituency where the Sena’s Omraje Nimbalkar is contesting against his cousin, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate and member of the Legislative Assembly, Ranajagjit Sinh Patil. Their political rivalry dates back several years. Mr. Patil’s father and NCP president Sharad Pawar’s staunch loyalist, Padmasinh Patil, was an accused in the murder of Mr. Nimbalkar’s father and former Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar. The case is yet to reach a conclusion.
Both candidates have previously faced each other in the 2014 Assembly polls, in which Mr. Patil won from the Osmanabad Assembly seat.
In 2014, the Sena’s Ravindra Gaikwad defeated Padmasinh Patil by a margin of 2,34,325 votes. After he stirred a controversy by hitting an Air India staffer in 2017, the Sena decided to drop him in the 2019 general elections and chose Mr. Nimbalkar, a former MLA. The move has not gone down well with Sena loyalists and Mr. Gaikwad’s supporters, as was evident in the recent party meeting where Sena workers created a ruckus over the issue.
“With leaders from other parties taking control of the party in Osmanabad, discontent within the generation which built the party from scratch is visible,” said Ravi Keskar, a journalist from Osmanabad.
Political equations
In wake of protests against changing Marathwada University’s name to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, a part of the Maratha community from the lower socio economic strata shifted allegiance to the Sena.
Despite the dominance of the Congress and later the NCP in the district co-operative arena, the Sena has emerged as a powerhouse. Local political equations forced the Sena and Congress to join hands against the NCP. As a result, the NCP tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Zilla Parishad elections.
Osmanabad is the only LS seat in the State where out of the six Assembly segments, five are with the Congress and NCP. Interestingly, the only Assembly seat with the Sena is Umarga, which is Mr. Gaikwad’s base.
“One of the most interesting features of this election is that the Congress and NCP are standing together, unlike previous Lok Sabha polls. More than the leaders, the workers of both parties have realised they need to work together if their parties need to survive,” says Mr. Keskar.
On the other hand, the Sena has to go solo in Osmanabad as the BJP does not have a base there; the party’s Sujitsinh Thakur from Osmanabad is Member of the Legislative Council, but his reach is limited.
‘Dynasty’ vs. performance
Mr. Nimbalkar has hit out at the NCP over dynastic politics. “From party district president to the Lok Sabha candidate, the NCP could find only one family from the entire district. The family enjoyed power for 40 years, but the district is still one of the most backward. We need a change,” he said.
The NCP, on the other hand, said the Sena and the BJP could not bring a single project to fruition in the past five years. “On the contrary, we ensured development of this region,” said Mr. Patil.
