Although Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to Raigad district hit the headlines for various reasons, none did predict that a vertical split will soon occur in the once powerful Peasants and Workers Party (PWP). A family feud within the PWP is said to have led to the division but its timing is significant. Soon after Shah concluded his two-day visit to the state, the only remining opposition pillar has started crumbling. Although this is just another chapter in the eroding strength of the political opposition in Maharashtra, it is surprising that none of the prominent opposition leaders is seen eager to arrest this erosion while the ruling Maha Yuti is appearing busy in sorting out its internecine conflicts.
The PWP once upon a time was the principal opposition party in Maharashtra but its electoral strength was fractional as compared with the ruling Congress party. The other notable presence in the political arena was that of the Communist Party of India, which also splintered later and is now almost non-existent numerically. The Jan Sangh, which is today’s BJP, had only token presence in the state and was confined to a few pockets. Hence, PWP leaders had been enjoying considerable respect as a tribute to their commitment to the Leftist ideology and their concern for the downtrodden. Over the years, its clout went on receding and was limisted to just a half dozen assembly constituencies, three of them in Raigad district, which is adjacent to Mumbai.
The family of Prabhakar Patil and his brother Datta Patil had an unbridled run of the political developments in the district owing to their absolute hold of the zilla parishad (ZP) but they failed to spread this influence beyond Raigad. Towering leaders like Ganpatrao Deshmukh, N.D.Patil and Keshavrao Dhondge remained restricted to their own assembly areas. As a result, the PWP kept on losing its mass base. Finally, all its control was concentrated into the hands of the party general secretary Jayant Patil, himself a business baron.
The latest split is owing to Jayant’s various decisions over the past year. The last straw proved to be his selection of his daughter in law, Chitralekha, as the party candidate in the assembly election. Jayant ignored the claim of his brother Subhash (Pandit) Patil and other hopeful leaders. The PWP lost the prestigious Alibaug seat, which was its fiefdom for decades. His sister Meenakshi was representing Alibagu for several terms. After her demise, Jayant became the sole decision-maker for the party and the family. Finally unable to remain in the secondary position, Subhash and his clan have declared their decision to join the BJP.
In the present political equations, Raigad is a major factor since NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Sunil Tatkare is the real power, he being elected to the Lok Sabha from the district for a second term. His daughter Aditi Tatkare is a cabinet minister. On the other hand, followers of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, feel that they have been handed a raw deal by CM Devendra Fadnavis since Mahad MLA Bharat Gogawle has been kept away from the district’s guardian ministership. Aditi’s name was earlier declared for the responsibility but has been kept in abeyance now by Fadnavis.
Against this background, Amit Shah’s visit to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s capital Raigad Fort was expected to resolve the conflict. However, instead of this taking place, the PWP has been halved. As and when Subhash Patil’s dons the saffron robe, the BJP is bound to become a stronger partner in Raigad district since he has grassroots network. Moreover, a large number of PWP workers have been unhappy with Jayant Patil’s style of functioning.
The other fallout will be that Tatkare’s clout in Raigad will be challenged due to this split. This will result in rethink for both DCMs, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar since the BJP’s increasing strengh will enhance at the cost of their parties.
The repercussions of the PWP’s weakness will be felt during the ZP elections, which are expected to take place in the near future. Since all three Maha Yuti partners will be vying with each other for establishing control in Raigad, the emerging permutations and calculations will be interesting to watch.
While the ruling saffron alliance will become stronger in any future developments, the opposition is appearing paralysed. Veteran leader Sharad Pawar has remained silent ever since assembly election results came out. The rout suffered by the opposition has similarly dampened the Congress party’s aggressive stance. Its newly appointed state president Harshwardhan Sapkal has failed to create any impact. Other senior Congress leaders are rarely seen. Upstart leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar have become a liability due to their intemperate language and irresponsible statements. The way he tried to defame the Lata Mangeshkar family over a tragic incident in Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital in Pune has shocked his own party bosses.
The Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray is the only opposition party which is struggling to mount some challenge for the Fadnavis government. Uddhav has once again started reciting the Hindutva tune but his opposition to the Waqf Act Amendment and frequent attacks against the BJP have confused his followers of his exact stand. The same is the case with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray. His ambivalance towards the Modi government has been intriguing for his soldiers. His agitation against the use of Hindi in banks has backfired and has ended with its withdrawal.
After a long time, the political scenario in Maharashtra is devoid of a strong opposition party or leader. Sadly, the second generation opposition leaders across the three parties – the Sena, the NCP and the Congress – have not shown a promise to fill the void. Most of their time is spent in making allegations and counter-allegations. Their inability to speak on the matters of larger public interest has been exposed thoroghly in the last legislature session.
Maharashtra in general and Mumbai Metropolitan Region in particular have been chosed by the Modi government for massive infrastructure development. Hence, the need for skilled and other types of manpower will be growing in the coming years. Amit Shah’s Raigad visit should be viewed from this perspective. Fighting with each other by political parties will not benefit Maharashtra.
A Column By
Dilip Chaware – Senior Editor
A media professional for 43 years, with extensive experience of writing on
a variety of subjects; he is also a documentary producer and book author.
