Bawankule won! Could get a bigger role in State Council
The state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), especially from the Vidarbha region can breathe easy thanks to the resounding victory of Chandrashekhar Bawankule from the Nagpur local authority constituency to State Council. Though he won from the safe seat which has been with the BJP, Bawankule’s win comes as a sigh of relief for the party which is fast losing its grip over the voters from Other Backward Classes (OBC).
So far BJP has won four seats in the recently concluded biennial elections held in the local authority constituencies. Among them, one seat from Mumbai and Akola-Buldhana-Washim have been the new additions. Victory in Akola-Buldhana constituency is noteworthy as the BJP candidate has won in a straight fight against Shiv Sena whose nominee has won thrice in the past. Victory in Nagpur was almost certain since the requisite number of votes were with the party. And the Congress candidate was a BJP man for the last so many years. But, barely two days to go to the polls, Congress changed its candidate and decided to support an independent, creating some sensation.
Why BJP targeted Nana Patole?
Soon after the Congress decided on changing its candidate from Nagpur, BJP leaders came down heavily against Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Nana Patole. Why? It was smooth sailing for the BJP, but it appears there is something more than meets the eye. It may have been the result of something different going against the pre-decided formula between the political parties.
On the other hand, soon after the results only the NCP spokesperson, Minister Nawab Malik from the Mahavikas Aghadi reacted immediately. He alleged horse-trading during the elections. But the losing party always makes such allegations mainly due to the arithmetic of the elections to the local self-government constituencies. It’s an open secret that money flows during the elections.
Bawankule’s victory was crucial for Devendra Fadnavis, the leader of opposition in the state assembly. This is more important than my victory in the state assembly elections, he has said. But, looking at the recent developments, the BJP’s win in Nagpur and Akola-Buldhana is more to the political understanding between the BJP and the Congress.
BJP withdrew from Rajya Sabha & State Council
The story starts when bye-elections to Rajya Sabha and the state council necessitated due to the untimely demise of Congress’ Rajeev Satav and Sharad Ranpise respectively. The Congress leaders had to go for political maneuvering when BJP decided to field its candidates for both the polls. MPCC chief Nana Patole and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, who is also the leader of the party in the state legislature, met Fadnavis with a request for withdrawing its candidate from the fray. Congress, in any case, was trying to avoid elections mainly because they did not want any trouble for the smooth win of RS candidate Rajni Patil, whose nomination was cleared by the party chief Sonia Gandhi herself and candidate for the state council was late Rajeev Satav’s wife Pradnya.
Against this backdrop, Patole and Thorat’s meeting with Fadnavis became crucial. Nobody knew what transpired behind the curtain. But, no help in politics is generous and it’s a give and take. Several eyebrows were raised when Congress decided to field Chhotu Bhoyar, a BJP loyalist whose roots are firm with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Nagpur. All was going smooth during the electioneering and all of a sudden Congress decided to disown Bhoyar and backed Mangesh Deshmukh, an independent candidate. This may have antagonized BJP such that their leaders began targeting Patole.
Bawankule’s win crucial for BJP
In Nagpur, the BJP was going cautiously due to the OBCs going against it during the elections held from Nagpur graduate constituency to the state council. Congress’ excellent performance in the recently held by-elections to the Nagpur Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis also a cause of worry for the BJP. Furthermore, the party did not want any trouble for Bawankule whose win had become crucial to them. It is widely said that BJP’s decision to drop Bawankule as the party candidate for the state assembly elections held in 2019 led to an anti-BJP wave among the OBCs in general and the politically strong Teli community from Vidarbha. Even Fadnavis’s victory margin dropped by 10-12 thousand votes, because of this wave, it was said.
After the victory of BJP in Akola-Buldhana-Washim, no senior leader from the Shiv Sena chose to react leading to speculations. Even the Congress and NCP camps were keeping mum. Here it is said that BJP received support from Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi led by Republican Party leader Prakash Ambedkar.
Bawankule can become LoP in Council
Going by the fact sheet of Vidarbha politics revolving around OBCs and the vote bank of the Teli community, a much bigger role for Bawankule cannot be ruled out entirely. On the other hand, Praveen Darekar, leader of the opposition in the state council has a sword hanging over his head due to the affairs in the Mumbai District Central Co-operative Bank. The state has already begun an inquiry into the bank affairs. He has also not been very aggressive these days. If something goes against Darekar, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Bawankule asked to take over. The BJP leaders may use it for image saving.