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Maharashtra Polls: Sharad Pawar, Congress Eye `Sugary Road` To Power In State
Traditionally an NCP-Congress stronghold, this region has witnessed a shift in loyalty since the NCP`s split, with several prominent leaders joining the BJP amid changing political dynamics.
Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2024: With the Maharashtra assembly elections around the corner, both the BJP and Congress are working to woo every section of society. Following the split within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the political battle has become particularly interesting, especially in Maharashtra’s western belt, dominated by sugarcane farmers and sugar mills. These sugar mills have long been the fulcrum of power politics in the state. Traditionally an NCP-Congress stronghold, this region has witnessed a shift in loyalty since the NCP's split, with several prominent leaders joining the BJP amid changing political dynamics.
The six districts in this region—Pune, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Satara, Sangli, and Kolhapur—hold 70 out of the 288 assembly seats. In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the NCP-Congress alliance maintained control of the region by winning 39 seats, while the BJP and the then-united Shiv Sena secured 25 seats. Of these, the NCP won 27 seats, the Congress 12, the BJP 20, and the undivided Shiv Sena five.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the MVA maintained an upper hand, securing 7 seats—Kolhapur, Sangli, Madha, Shirdi, Ahmednagar, Shirur, and Solapur—while the Mahayuti managed to win only three—Pune, Satara, and Hatkanangle.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, composed of Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena-UBT, is aiming to retain control of the region. Meanwhile, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the BJP, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), is working to woo voters and improve their electoral prospects.
Sharad Pawar has been actively campaigning in the region, and Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will be making his second visit to the area within a month. The MVA is striving to send a strong message that it stands with the farmers. Gandhi, who earlier visited Sangli, will visit Kolhapur on October 4-5.
As the MVA's chief strategist, Sharad Pawar has not only been mending differences with local rival leaders but also revitalizing the party’s grassroots workers—crucial for maintaining the party's winning margin.