Lok Sabha polls 2024: Marathwada likely a cliffhanger, Ashok Chavan's political clout to be tested

The back-to-back splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP, and Chavan’s movement from the opposition to the ruling side has changed political equations in the three seats of Marathawada.

Nanded, DHNS: The triangular geographical area involving three Lok Sabha seats of Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli in the vast expanse of Marathwada region is witnessing a three-cornered fight—leaving the contest wide open.

The Marathwada region was the epicentre of the Marathas-vs-OBCs reservation issue and the Congress suffered a political jolt when Ashok Chavan joined the BJP.

The back-to-back splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP, and Chavan’s movement from the opposition to the ruling side has changed political equations in the three seats.

The three Lok Sabha seats would go to polls during the second phase on April 26.

Marathwada means “the house of Marathi-speaking people”, a vast stretch of land occupied by the Marathi-speaking population of the former Hyderabad state during the period of Nizam's rule.

The region—which has eight districts—has its divisional headquarters in Chhatrapati SambhajiNagar, which was earlier known as Aurangabad. During medieval times, several kingdoms ruled Nanded and its neighbouring areas.

In fact, Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and last Sikh guru, spent his last days in Nanded.

Nanded also played a big role during the freedom movement.

Nanded:

Among the three seats, perhaps Nanded would be the most keenly contested, as all eyes would be on the Chavan family, which has controlled the seat. Ashok Chavan and his father, the late Shankarrao Chavan, were Chief Ministers. Chavan recently switched over to the BJP to become a Rajya Sabha member, but is likely to play a major role in the region.

During the 2014 polls, when the Narendra Modi wave swept Maharashtra, reducing the Congress to just two seats, the Nanded seat was won by Chavan while late Congress leader Rajiv Satav won the Hingoli seat.

However, in the 2019 polls, Chavan, then Maharashtra Congress President, lost. The BJP fielded sitting MP Prataprao Chikhalikar Patil while the Congress went with Vasantrao Patil and Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) fielded Avinash Bhosikar, making the contest triangular.

In previous elections, Chikhalikar had defeated Chavan. Now, however, the former CM has put his weight behind his old rival.

Parbhani:

In Parbhani, two-time Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav, who is now part of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), is facing a stiff challenge from Rashtriya Samaj Paksha leader Mahadev Jankar, who has been fielded from the quota of Ajit Pawar-led NCP by Maha Yuti.

Jankar, a former minister, who had started his career with late Kanshi Ram, is a prominent Dhangar leader. Jadhav, popularly known as Bandu Jadhav, is a prominent politician, having been a two-time MLA before becoming an MP.

Jankar initially negotiated with the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the Madha and Parbhani seats, but made an U-turn and lent support to the Eknath Shinde-led alliance. His flip-flop has not gone down well, but him being a Dhangar leader has an added advantage here.

Hingoli:

The Hingoli seat will see a fight between Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). The Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA has put up Dr B D Chavan as their candidate.

Thackeray has fielded Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, a former Shiv Sena MLA of Hadgaon. Shinde's camp had initially fielded sitting MP Hemant Patil, but due to stiff opposition from the BJP, it decided to go with Baburao Kadam Kohalikar.

To pacify Shinde, his wife Rajashri Patil has been fielded from the Yavatmal-Washim seat of Vidarbha, where it dropped five-time MP Bhawani Gawali, who was facing anti-incumbency.