Lok Sabha elections 2024: Three Sainiks walk into a battle

Baburao Kadam Kohalikar VS Nagesh Patil Ashtikar VS Dr D B Chavan

This parliamentary constituency is witnessing a unique contest where every candidate has a Shiv Sena connection. While aspirants belonging to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction and Shiv Sena (UBT) are in the race, the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi's candidate is a former Shiv Sainik.

The office of Shiv Sena candidate Baburao Kadam Kohalikar at Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli on Tuesday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Sitting MP Hemant Patil was originally to be the Shinde Sena candidate, but after strong opposition from the local BJP, the chief minister replaced him with Baburao Kadam Kohalikar. He is up against Sena (UBT)'s Nagesh Patil Ashtikar. Both candidates belong to the Maratha community, which is the largest in Hingoli. Therefore, the candidate with the most followers is likely to get more votes. Dr D B Chavan of VBA was the candidate of the undivided Shiv Sena in 2014 for the Kinwat Vidhan Sabha seat.

VBA, the disruptor?

The VBA hopes to win over Dalit and Muslim voters, who comprise the vote bank of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In Hingoli, it is also expected to impact the BJP-led Mahayuti. Dr Chavan belongs to the Banjara community, which tends to vote for the BJP. Banjaras comprise six to seven per cent of the Hingoli electorate. "In this constituency, the VBA will hit both alliances. It will get the votes of Dalits as well as Banjaras as the candidate belongs to the latter community, which tends to vote for the BJP," said political observer Tukaram Zade.

Maratha quota impact

The Maratha reservation issue presents a challenge for the Shinde-led Sena. Although candidates will get votes from Marathas, things will not be like they were in the 2014 election. Political observers feel the MVA is likely to benefit from the reservation issue in Hingoli. "The Maratha community is not in favour of both alliances. But there is no choice," said political observer Kalyan Deshmukh. He added that there was a possibility that the community would vote against the Mahayuti out of anger, which would help the MVA candidate.

Most MLAs belong to Mahayuti

There are six Assembly seats in the Hingoli Lok Sabha constituency. Out of these, five are represented by Mahayuti members. Three belong to the BJP and two to the Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar). The lone MVA MLA belongs to the Congress. In 2014, Subhash Wankhede joined Congress around election time, yet he secured three lakh votes. That means these are sure votes for the Congress, said a local journalist on the condition of anonymity. Hemant Patil of the undivided Shiv Sena secured 5.86 lakh votes in 2019. A local journalist also pointed out that due to the split in the party, there would be a division of votes and the Mahayuti would face the anger of Marathas over the reservation issue.

5.86 lakh
Votes secured by Sena in 2019