Kopri-Pachpakhadi: A Prestige Battle To Secure Anand Dighe's Political Legacy

Thane, Maharashtra: The Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency in Thane is all set to witness a prestige battle between two Shiv Senas. In the forthcoming polls, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is pitted against Kedar Prakash Dighe of the Shiv Sena (UBT). Traditionally, Thane has been considered a Shiv Sena bastion and the first city in the state where the party secured a civic poll win and elected its debut Mayor. However, all political equations have been changed after the split in 2022.

Shinde has been representing the constituency since 2009 and was formerly the legislator of the Thane Assembly segment from 2004 to 2009. In the 2019 election, he defeated Congress candidate Sanjay Ghadigaonkar by a margin of 89,300 votes. In the previous 2014 election, Shinde emerged victorious, defeating Sandeep Lele of the BJP. Shinde secured 1,00,316 votes, while Lele garnered 48,447 votes.

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Shande’s debut electoral success was in 1997, when he got elected as a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation. Currently helming the Chief Ministerial role, over the course of his political career, he undertook different responsibilities in the party and government, including Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, guardian minister of Thane District, and leader of Shiv Sena Party. As a Cabinet minister, he handled ministerial portfolios such as Public Health and Family Welfare, Urban Development and Public Works, and Home Affairs.

Shinde moulded his political personality through the mentorship of Thane strongman Anand Dighe. After Dighe’s death, Shinde continued his legacy, emerged as a powerful Shena leader, and made Thane his political bastion. In the present polls, he will be encountering Kedar, Dighe’s nephew.

Though Kedar was active in the Thane politics since 2006, his name never came in the spotlight, Indian Express reports. He held several positions in Yuva Sena, the Sena UBT’s youth wing. Dighe had twice expressed his desire to contest the Assembly polls but failed to secure a party ticket, a source suggesting that Shinde had cornered Kedar in the district unit, report adds. After Sena split, Kedar remained with the Thackeray faction and was appointed as Thane district president.

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A new face in electoral politics, Kedar is attempting to establish an emotional connection with the electorate, citing his late uncle’s legacy. The Thackeray group is attempting to evoke sympathy in favour of Kedar through Anand Dighe’s name and present him as a real successor to Dighe’s political inheritance than Shinde.

The assembly election in Kopri-Pachpakhadi, which would have been an easy win for the Chief Minister in his home seat, has given an unexpected twist by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and makes it a highly-contested one.