How small parties are playing a big role in Maha political battle
Will they serve as wind in the sails of the parties they choose to align with?
MUMBAI: Last week, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray took a chartered flight to Delhi to meet union home minister Amit Shah. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is keen on bringing him on board to deflect the sympathy of Marathi-speaking voters for Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. BJP is also toying with the idea of fielding MNS’S Bala Nandgaonkar from the prestigious Mumbai South seat.
In another instance, Mahadev Jankar, the voice of the Dhangar community and head of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), was hurriedly called by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to his Mumbai residence, just hours after he met the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar who was offering him a Lok Sabha seat. After the meeting, Jankar, an old BJP ally, declared he wished to stay with the saffron combine.
The blow-hot blow-cold relationship between Vanchit Bahujan Aaghdi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar and the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) continues. Although seat-sharing talks between the two sides have failed, both are attempting to see if an arrangement can be worked out.
As the nation readies to go to polls soon, in Maharashtra smaller parties are in demand like never before.
After the two vertical splits in prominent parties over the last two years – the Shiv Sena and NCP – the political battleground has become crowded, with six outfits jostling for space. At a time like this, smaller parties that have a hold on distinct pockets in the districts have come in great demand, with both ruling and opposition alliances trying to win them over.
Others that have risen in prominence in the battle for 48 seats are: Swabhimani Paksha (SP) led by peasants’ leader Raju Shetti, Prahar Janashakti Party (PJP) headed by legislator Bachchu Kadu and Yuva Swabhiman Party (YSP) led by Amravati legislator Ravi Rana.
All of them contribute by either strengthening the alliances or cutting numbers by contesting as independents – the preferred route of Ambedkar and Kadu.
A BJP MLA from Mumbai, who did not wish to be named, noted that this has become a unique selling point for all smaller parties, and it enhances their bargaining power, “even though by themselves they cannot win a single LS seat”. “While MNS won 13 assembly seats in 2009, placed its mayor in Nashik in 2012, and won sizable seats in Mumbai (29) and Pune (28) that year, it lost strength in subsequent elections – for lack of performance, inconsistency in policies and frequent changes in the stands. Similarly, VBA was hit hard by Ambedkar’s experiment in 2019 when he brought together several backward classes and joined hands with AIMIM. However, the moment people realised VBA was splitting secular votes, its numbers dwindled,” said the leader.
VBA had polled 6.92% votes in the 2019 LS election hurting the CongressNCP’S prospects in over nine seats. The backward classes combine had polled 4.92% votes in the assembly elections held six months after the national elections. “Dalits and backward classes have turned away from Ambedkar, which helps the ruling alliance which believes in divisive politics. The party’s vote share will further decline this year.
Many founder members, like Laxman Mane and Dhanraj Vanjari quit the alliance after LS polls saying it was highjacked by RSS and BJP. Ambedkar’s incumbent associates too are not happy with his policies,” said a former VBA leader requesting anonymity.
MNS, which was formed to reflect the voice of the sons of soil, fielded 11 candidates in 2009-LS polls and polled 15 lakh votes, with 10 garnering a lakh each. It split the Marathi votes and contributed to the defeat of a few Shiv Sena seats. In the 2009-Assembly polls, the party won 13 seats, but the vote share dwindled in subsequent polls.
“The party still has some influence in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Kalyan-dombivali and Nashik, and has the capability of denting Sena (UBT)’S chances; hence the ruling alliance wants to join hands with the party. But it remains to be seen how voters react Raj Thackeray’s flipflops,” said a former MNS leader, drawing attention to memes flooding social media after Thackeray’s recent meeting with Shah.
Another player --- RSP, led by Mahadev Jankar -- wields much clout in Solapur, Satara and Pune districts. The Dhangars enjoy a 3.5% quota in the nomadic tribe category, a sub-quota in OBC, and account for about 9% of the population. The party also has a presence in MP and UP. As an independent candidate supported by BJP in the 2014 LS polls, the party was runner up to Supriya Sule. There was a difference of 69,714 votes from Baramati between the two. Political observers maintain he would have won the seat if he had fought on BJP’S symbol. Six months after the last election, RSP candidate Rahul Kul was elected to the assembly.
NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar tried to win over Jankar for the Madha constituency, given his influence in large swathes of western Maharashtra. The two leaders almost arrived at an agreement in Pune last Saturday, following which Jankar was summoned by Fadnavis and wooed to join the Mahayuti. He will contest the Lok Sabha from Parbhani, in central Maharashtra.
Balasaheb Doltade, national president of Yashwant Sena, an outfit representing the Dhangar community, opined that Jankar’s decision was “for his own benefit” as 70% of the old RSP workers have parted ways with him. “We have been fighting our battle for the community under the banner of Yashwant Sena and do not approve of Jankarsaheb’s political stand. As a community leader, we will stand by him in Parbhani, but our stand will be different for other constituencies where our community is dominant,” said Doltade, once Jankar’s close confidante.
Swabhimani Paksha chief Raju Shetti, dominant in Kolhapur and other adjoining districts, is being wooed by both the opposition as well as the ruling alliance. Shetti was elected to the assembly in 2004, and Lok Sabha in 2009 and 2014, when he joined hands with BJP but parted ways in August, 2017.
Given their long associations with the ruling alliance, smaller parties like the Bachchu Kadu-led Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) and Ravi Rana-led YSP, are now flexing their muscles in Amravati. Navneet Rana, wife of Ravi Rana and office bearer of the party, was elected to Lok Sabha as an independent in 2019, backed by NCP. She is now the official BJP candidate from Amravati. Kadu, on the other hand has even won over Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Dinesh Boob, and announced his candidature as an independent against Rana.
Kadu, who has been with the Shiv Sena since the late 1990s and has now extended his support to the Shinde-led Sena, established his organisation, Prahar -- a socio-political outfit -- in early 2000, influenced by the Nana Patekar starrer of the same name. The organisation later morphed into PJP, wielding influence in two tehsils Achalpur and Chandur Bajar. Kadu polled 56,471 votes in 2004 and got elected to the assembly the same year. The four-time MLA’S vote share has increased with every passing election.
A local journalist from Amravati Avinash Dudhe, said while the Ranas “rose in the pecking order as they believe in ‘freebie’ politics and keep distributing household goods among the electorate, Kadu holds the image of one who stands by the poor”. Dudhe said, none of the political parties “can match his ‘masiah’ image, while his Sholay-like protests and pending court cases against him have gained him popularity”.
The Ranas introduced the culture of dahi-handi in Vidharba, he said,
Standing by the impoverished rather than the upper middle class. “The couple is known for contacts with the state’s top politicians and BJP’S national leaders which has enhanced their bargaining power,” he said.
Mumbai-based political analyst Hemant Desai said smaller parties that existed in the state for decades lost their equity for many reasons. “Janata Dal, PWP, left parties lost their relevance over time. Some other parties became inconsequential owing to their dwindled credibility, or changes in the policies making way for new entrants in the fray – like Jankar or MNS, who have also lost trust among voters because of their changing stand in politics,” said Desai.
ALL OF THEM CONTRIBUTE BY EITHER STRENGTHENING THE ALLIANCES OR CUTTING NUMBERS BY CONTESTING AS INDEPENDENTS