Ahmednagar: New Alliances Full Play In This Intricate Maharashtra Constituency

Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat from the largest district in Maharashtra is a sitting seat of BJP. The sitting Member of Parliament Dr Sujay Radhakarishna Vikhe Patil is contesting for his second time with a BJP ticket. Gandhi Dilipkumar Mansukhlal represented Ahmednagar in the parliament in 2009 and 2014 under the banner of BJP. The political dynamics of Maharashtra currently is complicated after the internal struggles and split among parties in last couple of years. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar or SP) and NCP (Ajith Pawar) factions. Ajith Pawar faction has the right to use NCP symbols. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena split as Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackerey or UBT) and Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena was split following the revolt of Eknath Shinde to take down the then Maha Vikas Aghadi led by Uddhav Thackerey with the support of BJP.

The two alliances of Maharashtra Mahayuthi, consists of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajith Pawar), and Maha Vikas Aghadi, consists of Congress, NCP – SP and Shiv Sena (UBT).

Ahmednagar was a bastion for Congress for 46 years, from 1952 to 1998. In 1998, Shiv Sena won the constituency where the Congress had less impacts. In the assembly election of 2019, NCP secured 4 and BJP secured 2 seats from the assembly seats come under the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency.

This election will be decisive for both alliances , Mahayuthi and Maha Vikas Aghadi, in the intricate political landscape of Maharashtra.

BJP nominated the sitting MP, Dr. Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who comes from a political family. His father, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, is the state revenue minister and his grandfather, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, was the union minister in Atal Bihari Vajapyee government.

Maha Vikas Aghadi, a state-wise formation affiliated with the INDIA alliance, has nominated Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke, the sitting MLA of Parner. He switched from NCP to NCP – SP. His political experience and deep routed connections as a farmer gives him the hope to wrest the constituency from BJP. He could take advantage of his accessibility to locals which Dr. Sujay fails to do as an elite politician.

(This is article is part Timeline Internship Programme)