He remained man-next-door for everybody and won
| Date :27-May-2019 |
Krupal Tumane who got elected from Ramtek being greeted by Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray. Others look on.
By Vikas Vaidya:
Krupal Tumane, a Shiv Sena candidate got elected from Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency. It is his second term. He is known for his belief in keeping low profile. He kept visiting at least four towns of Ramtek, since 2009 even though he was defeated. Being aware of the vastness of his constituency, Tumane knew his fund of Member of Parliament would not be enough to cater to the needs of Ramtek. Against that backdrop he did take help from Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. While attributing his victory to party leader Uddhav Thackeray, Tumane also gives credit to Gadkari, Fadnavis and Bawankule too. He can never remain ungrateful to anybody, as it is his wont. ‘The Hitavada’ talked to him on several issues related to his victory and his future plans.
Here are the excerpts:
Q: Which are the factors you feel, helped you in registering victory?
A: I give full credit to our party leader Uddhavji Thackeray, our Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Nitin Gadkari and Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Secondly, I must admit that since 2009, even though I was defeated, I made it a habit to visit at least 5 villages daily, I continued it after 2014, my first win and will continue doing it.
Q: Whether you were confident of winning the election?
A: I was fully confident. In fact with that confidence I had spent Rs 3 crore out of my fund for the development of constituency.
Q: What are your strengths you feel that won the election for you?
A: Everybody knows I always try to remain low-profile. There is not a single person whose phone I never pick up, due to which people developed a feeling that they could call me, their MP at any time. For them I was like man next door. I always give priority to my people, due to which several times I have to face the wrath of my family. I tried to establish my connect with people. My office remained open for people on Sundays, when I personally attended them. Wherever I go, I made myself available in office on Sunday and people of Ramtek were well aware, they don’t need any appointment to meet me. People of my constituency will remain my top priority forever.
Q: Uddhav Thackeray is your party leader but why do you attribute credit to Gadkari, Fadnavis or Bawankule?
A: See, my constituency is very vast and my MP fund was not enough to cater to the needs of it. I needed more money where I took help from Gadkari, Fadnavis, Bawankule who helped me very openly. I had some trouble in Delhi while dealing with the officers but that is a part of life.
Q: Did you contest election with some strategy?
A: I did not plan my elections. I kept faith on people. Some people from opposite parties tried to bring caste factor in the election but that did not make any difference. People knew me so nobody could tell them whom should they vote.
Q: What are your plans for your constituency?
A: There was issue of toll naka near Mansar that got resolved. Now the toll naka will start functioning from right place from June 1. Secondly, I recently performed bhoomipujan of 1,000 crore project of Manganese Ferro Alloys, land acquisition is also made. It will fetch good employment opportunities for the youngsters of this region. Thirdly, I want to create tourist circuit involving the tourist spots like Nagardhan, Ramtek, Kunwara Bhivsen, etc. I also want to involve UNESCO to take some spots like Mansar where palace of Vakataka era was found after excavation, to take it on the map of international tourist spots.
A brief profile of Krupal Tumane Krupal Tumane was basically a cricket player, an all-rounder. He did lead Vidarbha Cricket team in Vijay Merchant and C K Nayadu trophy. His sporting spirit probably helped him in politics. He did his schooling from Rashtriya Vidyalaya, new Shukrawari, New English School while he completed B.Sc from Mohota Science College. His simple disposition has been inherited by his children. His son Gaurav and daughter Himanshi are doing BCA and Class 12 from Dr Ambedkar College, Deekshabhoomi, respectively. His wife Revati is housewife.
From NSUI, Congress Sewadal to Shiv Sena Krupal Tumane’s speciality lies in his humbleness. He did shift his loyalty from Congress to Shiv Sena, but it never gave impression that he joined it out of political ambition. He joined NSUI, youth wing of Congress, then became President of Congress Sewadal. In 2009 he joined Shiv Sena and contested Lok Sabha election from Ramtek. He got defeated but nobody noticed that political big-wig Mukul Wasnik could clinch the victory by mere lead of 16,701 that too against lesser known opponent like Tumane. Tumane did not stop there. He kept visiting every single village of Ramtek though he was not the MP. Contrary to it, Wasnik never visited constituency after victory. In 2014, Wasnik had to bite the dust, with a margin of solid 1,75,791 votes. It was like a race of hare and tortoise, won by low-profile tortoise --Tumane who defeated the over-confident hare -- Wasnik.