Sangli Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Will Congress Rebel Vishal Patil Edge Maha Vikas Aghadi Out of the Title Fight?

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posted on 7 months ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT, both part of the opposition INDIA bloc, have been dealt a huge blow in Sangli with Congress rebel Vishal Patil contesting as an Independent and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi deciding to extend support to him

The Sangli Lok Sabha constituency is one of 48 parliamentary constituencies in Maharashtra. This is a General category seat and comprises part of the Sangli district. Six Assembly segments fall under the Sangli Lok Sabha constituency, of which the BJP currently holds two (Miraj-SC and Sangli), the Congress holds two (Palus-Kadegao and Jat), and the NCP holds one (Tasgaon-Kavathemahankal). The Khanapur seat is held by Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena but its MLA Anil Babar had passed away on January 31 this year and the seat has been vacant since. The Sangli Lok Sabha seat will vote in the third phase of general elections on May 7, 2024.

Sitting MP — Sanjaykaka Patil (BJP)

Candidates — Sanjaykaka Patil (BJP), Chandrahar Patil (Shiv Sena-UBT), Vishal Patil (Independent)

Political Dynamics

Sangli, in the western part of Maharashtra, was a Congress stronghold between 1962 and 2014 before the BJP wrested it in 2014 during the Narendra Modi wave.
Candidate selection in Maharashtra this time was not an easy task for either the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra or the Congress-Shiv Sena UBT’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
But the war of words over Sangli drags on in the case of the latter barely 10 days before voting, a sentiment that threatens to dent cadre spirit and campaigning on the ground.
The Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT, both part of the opposition INDIA bloc, have been dealt another blow with Congress rebel Vishal Patil contesting as an Independent and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi deciding to extend support to him.
According to sources on the ground, the title fight may very well come down to the BJP and Vishal Patil.
BJP-Led Mahayuti: The BJP has given the Sangli ticket to sitting MP Sanjaykaka Patil for the third time in a row.
Patil, an NCP-turned-BJP leader, had wrested the Congress bastion amid the Narendra Modi wave of 2014.
He retained it in 2019, partly due to the presence of Gopal Padalkar, a BJP proxy, say political observers.
Sanjaykaka Patil got more than 5 lakh votes, while Vishal Patil of the Swabhimani Paksha and Gopal Padalkar received 3 lakh each.
While he is known to have ground connect with the voters, there is some anti-incumbency factor against Sanjaykaka as is the case with any leader contesting third time in a row from the same seat.
Sources say some of his party colleagues in the region had also criticised him for being inaccessible to them.
Sanjaykaka Patil has preferred doing door-to-door campaigns instead of big rallies, a strategy that worked for him in 2019 elections too.
One of the challenges the BJP candidate faces in this election is the disappointment among sugarcane farmers who blame him for not being able to negotiate a better price for their produce with sugar mills in the region.
Modi Appeal: It was the Modi wave in 2014 that landed the Sangli seat, which had voted Congress since 1962, in the BJP’s lap.
Though the BJP has a strong state-level leadership and organizational setup in Maharashtra constituencies, the mass appeal and popularity of PM Narendra Modi, who remains the party’s trump card and its biggest vote catcher, is what the saffron party is banking on this time too.
Maha Vikas Aghadi: The Congress wanted to contest from Sangli and field Vishal Patil from the seat, but was pushed out of the fray after Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena-UBT unilaterally declared wrestler Chandrahar Patil as its and the MVA’s candidate, resulting in a bitter war of words between the allies.
This is Chandrahar Patil’s first Lok Sabha battle. Though he enjoys some celebrity status in the region, Chandrahar faces an uphill task against sitting MP and BJP candidate Sanjaykaka Patil as well as Congress rebel Vishal Patil who is contesting as an Independent.
Chandrahar, who has won the state’s top wrestling competition ‘Maharashtra Kesari’ two times, had joined the Shiv Sena-UBT outfit in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on March 11 this year.
On April 26, Chandrahar Patil was booked for holding a foot march allegedly without permission in Sangli district. A case under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act was registered against him and three organisers.
Patil and his party workers had held a padyatra and paid door-to-door visits in Khatao and Bedag villages in Miraj on April 25, without obtaining permission from the assistant returning officer, thus violating the model code of conduct, officials said.
Bad Blood in the MVA: The Shiv Sena-UBT walking away with the Sangli seat has definitely not gone down well in the Congress ranks. Maharashtra Congress leader Vishwajit Kadam has slammed the INDIA ally for snatching the Sangli constituency as part of a “conspiracy”.
He further alleged that senior leaders like Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat and senior leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan did not keep an eye on what was afoot during seat sharing talks.
“I am not accusing you all of handing the seat to the alliance partner but you should have kept an eye on what was afoot,” Kadam said.
Kadam, Congress MLA from Palus Kadegaon, says the Shiv Sena-UBT should not expect any help during the Assembly polls later this year.
Nana Patole agreed he got “trapped in the conspiracy” but cryptically added he knew how to come out of the “chakravyuh”.
The Shiv Sena-UBT has defended the move, saying it didn’t want to be without a seat in western Maharashtra.
Party leader Sanjay Raut says the Shiv Sena won both Lok Sabha constituencies in Kolhapur district in 2019, but gave the Kolhapur parliamentary constituency to Congress and Hatkanangale to farmers’ leader Raju Shetti.
“If we did not claim Sangli, there would be no seat for the Sena (UBT) in western Maharashtra,” he added.
Vishal Patil: Congress rebel Vishal Patil stunned his party and its allies when he stuck to his decision to contest the Sangli Lok Sabha poll as an Independent candidate and did not withdraw his nomination on April 22, the last day for the process.
Several Congress leaders, including Vishwajeet Kadam, had implored the party’s central leadership to prevail upon Sena-UBT to allow Patil to contest, but in vain.
Addressing a press conference, Vishal Patil said several senior leaders urged him to take back his nomination in exchange for key positions for his family members, but he refused.
Vishal Patil comes from a family with a political legacy. He is a descendent of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, against whom NCP founder Sharad Pawar rebelled and got the state’s top post in 1978, due to which the two families have been adversaries.
This is the second time in a row that Vishal was denied the party ticket to Sangli. His close aides say it was Sharad Pawar who played spoilsport in 2019.
His aides claim the NCP patriarch was aware of “large-scale disappointment” against BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil in the constituency.
Instead of seizing the opportunity and fielding Vishal Patil, Pawar let political rivalry get in the way and convinced the Maharashtra Congress leaders to give the Sangli Lok Sabha seat to Swabhimani Paksha, a little-known party in the region, they say.
“Vishal Patil, who was supposed to fight on a Congress ticket, had to contest on the lesser known Swabhimani Paksh symbol (cricket bat), but still got 3 lakh votes,” a close aide of his said.
Catch-22 for Congress Cadre: Facing the ire of party cadre at giving up the Sangli seat to its ally, the Congress leadership maintains its move was dictated by alliance dharma and not because it was helpless.
Party leader Nana Patole says Congress workers in Sangli will contribute to the victory of the MVA “for the sake of the country”, but that seems easier said than done.
Sources say Congress workers on the ground, who had passionately demanded Vishal Patil’s candidature from Sangli, are in a bind and haven’t yet fully expressed support for the Shiv Sena-UBT candidate.
The MVA leadership will take solace from the fact that despite Vishal Patil’s claims to the contrary, Congress cadre haven’t been seen explicitly supporting the rebel candidate either.
Mindful of cadre sentiment, however, the Congress hasn’t been quick to act against Vishal Patil.
Asked whether the party will take action against him, Nana Patol says he would send a report to Delhi and action will be taken as per the decision of the central leadership.
VBA Factor Another Blow to MVA: The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has announced its support for Congress rebel and Independent candidate Vishal Patil, dealing a huge blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Sangli.
Incidentally, the MVA’s candidate in this election, Chandrahar Patil, was announced earlier by the VBA when it was in talks with the MVA for an alliance.
But the outfit dashed the opposition’s hopes and decided to go solo in the Lok Sabha elections.
Prakash Ambedkar, BR Ambedkar’s grandson, even accused MVA allies of trying to use his outfit to promote dynastic politics.
The two sides had been involved in hectic parleys over the last few months to reach an agreement on fighting the polls together. The MVA had offered four Lok Sabha seats to the VBA which the latter had declined. The opposition bloc later offered one more seat to the Ambedkar-led outfit.
The VBA going solo will ultimately be a boost to the BJP as Dalit votes would be split between the MVA and VBA, a fact admitted even by senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat who urged Ambedkar to reconsider his decision.
In more bad news for the Congress-Uddhav Thackeray alliance, the VBA is being supported by Manoj Jarange, a quota activist who mobilised thousands for his rallies to demand reservation for the Maratha community.
Dhangar Votes: The Sangli constituency has a sizeable presence of the Dhangar or (pastoral or shepherd) community.
One of the demands of the community is reservation under the ST category.
Last November, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange extended support to this demand.
At present, the Dhangars have 3.5% reservation in education and jobs under Nomadic Tribes (C). They are demanding to be placed under Scheduled Tribes category to be eligible for 7% reservation.
Traditionally, this community has supported the BJP which had promised them reservation along the lines of the Maratha and Kunbi quota, but the delay in fulfilling this demand has dented their support to an extent.
The BJP-led Mahayuti is trying to woo back the Dhangars, pointing out the ticket given to Dhangar leader Mahadev Jankar from Parbhani.
Muslim Votes: The Muslim community in Sangli has been known to support the Congress, but reporters on the ground say this time, pockets of the community are leaning towards Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena since they feel only his outfit is taking the BJP head-on.

Key Constituency Issues

Drought & Water Scarcity: Maharashtra’s Sangli and Satara districts are prone to acute shortage of water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Last month, the local administrations in Sangli and Satara took measures to stop water theft along the canals.
With lakes and ponds drying up and reservoirs way below their capacity, these districts have to depend on dams located upstream of the Krishna River.
As per local reports, more than 1,000 hamlets have no access to drinking water now and 250 water tankers have been deployed to ensure these hamlets have at least some supply.
In August last year, Pani Sangharsh Samiti, an umbrella outfit of 65 villages in Sangli district, had urged locals to change the language of sign boards from Marathi to Kannada in protest against the shortage of water. Sangli lies at the contentious border between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
The outfit has been demanding permanent irrigation for the 65 villages for decades now.
Mhaisal Lift Irrigation Scheme: Farmers in the Jat taluka of Sangli have also been waiting for the expansion of the Mhaisal lift irrigation scheme.
The Mhaisal Lift Irrigation Scheme (MLIS) is a project in Maharashtra that lifts water from the Krishna River to provide water for agricultural and drinking purposes in drought-prone regions of Sangli and Solapur districts.
The scheme is expected to cost around Rs 1,100 crore and will help farmers switch from drought-prone areas to cash crops and fruit crops.
The MLIS will also make low-interest rate finance available to the state irrigation department.
Floods: Western Maharashtra where Sangli is located is also prone to floods. In 2021, Sangli was among the most-affected districts.
Unprecedented rainfall had also wreaked havoc during the 2019 monsoon season in western Maharashtra, especially in Kolhapur and Sangli districts, claiming over 60 lives.
After the floods, it was alleged that the Karnataka government was responsible for it as it did not release water from the Almatti dam on the Krishna river and its backwater led to flooding in the Maharashtra districts.
In 2021, then state minister Jayant Patil had said the Karnataka government has decided to set up real-time data acquisition system (RTDAS) at its Almatti and Narayanpur dams to monitor the water level, which will help prevent recurrence of the flood situation.
Sangli farmers have also opposed the proposed Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Highway, alleging it will further aggravate the flood situation in Sangli.
Tug-of-Water: Krishna river originates in Satara district and flows through Sangli and Kolhapur before entering Karnataka.
The Almatti dam in Karnataka has been a bone of contention as late discharge of water from the dam is said to be behind the flooding in Kolhapur and Sangli districts in 2019 as well as in 2005, which not only claimed several human and animal lives, but also caused large-scale loss to the agriculture sector.
Farmer Issues: Sugarcane farmers in Sangli and Kolhapur regions have been protesting for an additional payment of Rs 400 per tonne for cane crushed in the previous season and a Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 3,500 per tonne for the current season.
The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), a farmers’ organization in western Maharashtra, is leading the protest. The farmers last year had refused to allow harvesting until the issue was resolved.
The demands were triggered by the Sangli sugar mills’ refusal to pay them Rs 50–100 per tonne of cane crushed in the previous year, as agreed upon between the farm union and mills.
The farmers are also demanding payment of Rs 400 per tonne over the government-declared FRP for cane purchased during the 2022–2023 season.
A campaign point for the ruling coalition when it comes to wooing farmers will be the payment of additional money to farmers under the Namo Shetkari Maha Samman scheme. It will also highlight the one rupee’ crop insurance scheme launched last year.
The opposition, however, has accused the government of doing nothing to stop farmer suicides and not ensuring adequate MSP for crops.
The Union government’s policy of banning or restricting exports of crops like onion to check price rise in the domestic market is another issue that figures in the campaign.
Maratha Quota: The Maratha reservation demand has dominated Maharashtra’s political landscape since the Supreme Court struck down the 2018 Act of the state which provided quota in education and jobs to the Maratha community.
OBCs constitute 34% of Maharashtra’s population while Marathas account for 28%. Traditionally, the OBCs supported the BJP and Shiv Sena, while the Marathas backed the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. But after 2014, many Marathas shifted to the BJP, according to political observers.
Activist Manoj Jarange had demanded that the entire Maratha community should be given quota in the OBC category by identifying them as Kunbi. Kunbis, an agrarian community, fall in the OBC category.
But Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior minister from the NCP and prominent OBC leader, opposed the demand, stating that Marathas should not get a share in the OBC quota.
Bhujbal took a defiant stand even though the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government was sympathetic to the quota demand. It set up the Sandeep Shinde committee to examine pre-1967 Kunbi records.
Jarange has maintained that Marathas and Kunbis are socially and culturally very close.
The government subsequently enacted a fresh legislation providing 10% quota to Marathas. But some Maratha organisations claimed that it would not stand judicial scrutiny, and the overall quota in the state now exceeds 50%.

Voter Demographics

Social composition

SC — 12.5%

ST — 0.6%

Religious composition

Buddhist — 1.35%

Christian — 0.32%

Jain — 3.1%

Muslim — 8.49%

Sikh — 0.04%

Major Infra Projects in Sangli

Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Expressway: Presenting the first Budget of the Eknath Shinde government last year, Maharashtra finance minister Devendra Fadnavis had proposed a new mega highway, called the Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Expressway, which will also benefit Sangli.
The 760-km expressway will connect the two distant ends of the state – Vidarbha and Konkan. As the name suggests, the highway will connect prominent temples of Mahur, Tuljapur, Kolhapur and Ambajogai.
This expressway will further connect two jyotirlingas — Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath; Takhat Sachkhand Hazur Sahib at Nanded; Maharashtra’s reigning deity Vitthal Rakhumai at Pandharpur; Karanja Lad; Akkalkot; Gangapur; Narsobachi Wadi; and Audumbar.
This highway – passing through six districts of Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv – will give strong support to the Marathwada region’s economy.
The development of Wardha, Yavatmal, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts will also get a boost.
The estimated cost of this project is Rs 86,300 crore.
Kavalapur Airport: In July last year, the Maharashtra cabinet gave in-principle approval to the proposed 160-acre Kavalapur airport in Sangli district.
The airport was one of the major demands of grape, raisin, dragon fruit and pomegranate cultivators in Sangli to be able to export their produce abroad.
The land for the airport project is currently under the Industrial Development Corporation, but would be transferred to the Airport Development Authority, as per reports.
Project to Divert Flood Water: The World Bank recently approved financial assistance of Rs 2,328 crore to develop infrastructure to divert flood water from western Maharashtra to Marathwada.
The state government will contribute Rs 998 crore for the plan.
Sangli and Kolhapur districts had witnessed flooding in September 2018, and a World Bank team that visited these areas at the time decided to provide aid for the water diversion project.
New Highways: In March 2022, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had dedicated to the nation two highway projects worth Rs 2,334 crore in Sangli.
The total length of the two sections is 96.78km.
Borgaon-Watambare Section Four-Laning: This stretch of National Highway 166 in Maharashtra is being four-laned from its existing two lanes.
The 52-km-long section is part of the Sangli to Solapur stretch of NH-166, which connects Ratnagiri to Nagpur.
Sangli-Peth Naka Road Construction: Work on this much-awaited project started in December 2023.
The Sangli-Peth Naka Road is a 41-km highway that connects Sangli city and Peth Naka. It is a major stop on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway.
It will be four-laned at a cost of Rs 596 crore. The contractor will recover the cost by collecting toll tax.
Sangli Railway Station Overbridge: In January this year, the Central Railways approved the extension of the foot overbridge to Platform 4 at the Sangli railway station.
This was a long-pending demand by the Sangli railway passengers’ association and Sangli Jilha Nagrik Jagruti Manch.
Amrit Bharat Station Scheme Works: Several other works are also being carried out the Sangli Railway Station as part of the Ministry of Railways initiative to modernize 1,275 railway stations across India.