Constituency Watch: Covid Warrior, the family of Maharashtra’s pioneers of the cooperative movement, will battle in Ahmednagar

Mumbai, 8 May The cooperatively wealthy Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency is involved in a straight race between BJP nominee Dr. Sujay Vikhe-Patil and NCP(SP) contender Nilesh Lanke.

The confrontation between the two is presented as a struggle between a newcomer who became known as a “Covid Warrior” by aiding a great number of people during the coronavirus outbreak and a member of the Vikhe-Patil family, who are regarded as the forerunners of the cooperative movement in Maharashtra.

For Lanke, it is a chance to establish himself as the man of the people, capable of taking on powerful and cunning politicians, while for Vikhe-Patil, it is also a struggle to maintain the dominance of his family and the BJP in the Ahmednagar District.

Political analysts claim that Sharad Pawar and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, two longtime enemies, are also involved in the conflict.

Sujay Vikhe-Patil is the great-grandson of Padmashri Vitthalrao Vikhe-Patil, who is credited with founding Asia’s first cooperative sugar plant in Ahmednagar after independence, while Nilesh Lanke is from a farming family.

On voting day on May 13, a total of 19,81,866 voters—10,32,946 men and 9,48,801 women—will cast ballots.

There are twenty-five contestants. Shevgaon and Shrigonda are held by the BJP among the six Assembly seats, while Rahuri and Karjat-Jamkhed are controlled by the NCP (SP). Following Nilesh Lanke’s departure, the Parner constituency is empty.

The saffron party nominated Vikhe-Patil from the seat despite dissatisfaction with the politician, who was elected for the first time in the 2019 General Elections after leaving the Congress to join the BJP.

Legislator for the BJP Ram Shinde had declared his intention to run for the seat and voiced strong dissatisfaction with Vikhe-Patil’s methods.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, stepped in and persuaded Ram Shinde to support Vikhe-Patil while urging him to set aside disagreements.

After the party split in June 2023, Lanke—who had been elected from the Parner Assembly seat in the 2019 elections on an NCP (united) ticket—joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

But he left the Ajit Pawar group and joined the NCP(SP) headed by Sharad Pawar, declaring his intention to run for Lok Sabha from Ahmednagar.

Lanke begged that he would be able to take advantage of the unhappiness directed towards the BJP and Vikhe-Patil, particularly regarding fundamental concerns like the suffering of farmers, the inadequate price for milk, the Center’s inconsistent policies regarding the export of sugar and ethanol, and most importantly, the disregard for water projects.

In addition to welcoming Lanke back into the party, the elder Pawar declared his candidacy. The battle, which was previously thought to be one-sided for Vikhe-Patil, has grown more difficult with Lanke’s arrival.

Riding on “Modi’s guarantee,” Vikhe-Patil is counting on the BJP’s electoral apparatus, the cooperative and educational institutions founded by his great-grandfather, grandfather, and former Union minister Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, as well as the political clout of his father, state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.

At a rally for Vikhe-Patil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to advance the development of the Ahmednagar District to unprecedented levels.

However, Lanke has portrayed the election as a contest between the power of money and the people. Using his extensive network to his advantage, he is executing his campaign.

Lanke batted off Vikhe-Patil’s criticism of him for not speaking English well, stating that he speaks the people’s language and would keep doing so while addressing their pressing concerns in the Lok Sabha.

Balasaheb Thorat, a seasoned cooperative leader and former Congress minister, NCP(SP) legislators Rohit Pawar and Prajakt Tanpure, as well as a few non-governmental organizations engaged in a variety of disciplines, are among the people on Lanke’s side.

To assure his man’s win, Sharad Pawar has turned the seat into a prestige issue and spoken at a few rallies here.