Congress biggest gainer, Shiv Sena biggest loser
| Date :09-Jan-2020 |
By Kartik Lokhande :
A look at the Zilla Parishad (ZP) election results declared on Wednesday reveals that Congress has emerged as the biggest gainer while Shiv Sena has proved to be the biggest loser in rural parts of Nagpur district. Nagpur ZP had 59 seats in 2012. Then, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 22 seats, followed by Congress with 19 members, Shiv Sena eight, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seven, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), and RPI had one member each. Then, BJP faced rebellion from Nisha Sawarkar during election of President. With NCP supporting BJP-Sena-GGP combine at the last moment, BJP member Sandhya Gotmare got elected as President. In bargain, NCP’s Chandrashekhar Chikhale became Vice-President.
Then, the combined tally of BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP-GGP combine was 38 in 59-member ZP house. However, after two-and-a-half years’ term of Gotmare was over, again the election of ZP President was held. This time, BJP replaced Gotmare with Nisha Sawarkar. NCP also got ousted from the alliance and Shiv Sena’s Sharad Donekar became Vice-President. Since then, Sawarkar-led ZP body got extension despite completion of term, owing to litigations that challenged finalisation of reservation. However, after objections were raised, the ZP body led by Sawarkar was dissolved and Chief Executive Officer took over as administrator. Meanwhile, the composition of several circles changed as some areas were elevated to the status of Nagar Panchayat and municipal councils. Hudkeshwar-Narsala were annexed to Nagpur city. This reduced the number of ZP circles to 58.
By the time elections were announced, Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections were held in 2019. In Lok Sabha, BJP won Nagpur city seat and Shiv Sena won Ramtek seat, which has ZP area. In Assembly elections, however, Congress and NCP made inroads. In 2014, BJP had won five out of total six seats in Nagpur rural. Congress could win only one seat -- Sunil Kedar from Saoner. But, in 2019, picture changed. Congress won two seats -- Sunil Kedar from Saoner and Raju Parwe from Umred. NCP regained Katol seat, with senior leader Anil Deshmukh emerging victorious. Ramtek seat of Assembly also was regained by Adv Ashish Jaiswal, a Shiv Sena leader who contested as an Independent candidate.
Thus, BJP lost four seats in Nagpur rural and could win only two -- Sameer Meghe from Hingna and Tekchand Sawarkar from Kamptee. Of course, the results of Assembly elections indicated the mood. Several factors further boosted the chances of Congress and NCP in ZP elections. BJP’s denial of ticket to Chandrashekhar Bawankule from Kamptee in Assembly elections had shocked many, and Bawankule’s supporters were unhappy with this. Bawankule’s close aide Tekchand Sawarkar, who is also husband of former ZP chief Nisha Sawarkar, got BJP ticket and won ultimately. Still, many BJP workers were peeved with the treatment given to Bawankule.
After Assembly elections, the long-enduring alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena broke. Shiv Sena joined hands with Congress and NCP to form Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and State Government with intention of keeping BJP out of power. Obviously, this sparked speculations if Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP combine would contest ZP elections as MVA. This had dampened the spirit of many in all these three parties. For, they felt that their chance of contesting would be lost in seat-sharing. As a result, Sena decided to go solo. BJP was left with no choice but to go sole. In the process, Congress and NCP sorted out seat-sharing amicably. BJP fielded mostly new faces, as many old-timers were not able to contest with changes in reservation.
Though leaders like Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of Opposition in Assembly; Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways; and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, former Guardian Minister of district, campaigned hard in ZP elections, their efforts proved to be inadequate. In Gadkari’s native place Dhapewada, Congress candidate Mahendra Dongre emerged victorious. Given the fact that there were only six days for campaign, new faces could not get familiarised enough with the electorate and that could be one reason for drop in party’s performance. Shiv Sena, however, delivered one of its worst performances. It could win only one seat. Despite having its Krupal Tumane as Member of Parliament from Ramtek constituency, which covers entire area of ZP, Shiv Sena could not perform well in ZP elections.
In comparison, Congress performed impressively. Sunil Kedar, Saoner MLA and now Sports and Youth Welfare Minister in MVA Government, made all the efforts successfully to ensure that Congress won most of the ZP seats in his Assembly constituency. Rajendra Mulak, District President of Congress party; and Raju Parwe, Umred MLA, also contributed in victory of Congress candidates. As far as NCP is concerned, it focussed on the circles it got in seat-sharing with Congress. Anil Deshmukh, a seasoned NCP leader and Home Minister, campaigned hard in the area of his influence and the result was encouraging for NCP.
His son Salil won comfortably from Metpanjra circle. Another NCP leader and former minister Rameshchandra Bang also fielded his son Dinesh from Raipur circle in Hingna tehsil, and ensured his win. Bang also campaigned and contributed to the victory of NCP candidates in the area of his influence. Considering all these factors, one can say that Congress and NCP have regained ground in Nagpur rural, and BJP will have to work harder to reclaim the political territory in days to come.