Daughter looks to avenge Shinde losses as BJP eyes hat-trick in Maharashtra's Solapur
PUNE/KOLHAPUR: It isn’t anti-incumbency or relative weakness of allies that could come in the way of a BJP hat-trick in Solapur. What could prove to be the party’s undoing is the dismal scorecard of its MPs on ‘Smart City’ work implementation, big ticket infrastructure projects and the festering drinking water crisis — to name a few — in the last decade.
While the saffron party appears to be struggling for a narrative to sell its nominee, Ram Satpute, to the people, its main challenger, Congress’s Praniti Shinde, is rubbing in the ‘no-development’ message. Amid a whirlwind of meetings and rallies in the rural hinterland, the three-term MLA from Solapur City Central makes it a point to rake up BJP’s “failures” and plead for a chance to do better.
“Solapur has been suffering for the last decade as the two BJP MPs ignored the real issues plaguing the district. They could not make the airport operational or set up an IT park. I will accord priority to development projects, if elected,” Praniti recently said.
On her daily rounds, Praniti never forgets to ignite a debate on Satpute’s “outsider” status. Speaking at a rally, Praniti said, “We need to pack him (Satpute) this time and send the parcel back to Beed.” Satpute was born in Ashti tehsil of Beed district, 180 km north of Solapur. His father, a sugarcane harvester, moved to Bhamburdi in Solapur’s Malshiras tehsil, where Satpute completed his secondary education before going to Pune for higher studies.
Praniti’s remark prompted BJP to claim that its candidate was not “born with a silver spoon in his mouth”, an apparent reference to Praniti’s status as the daughter of former CM and Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde.
“Our candidate is connected to all sections of society. He has been working hard for the poor,” Sachin Kalyanshetti, BJP’s Solapur district president and Akkalkot MLA, told TOI.
In the 2014 polls, BJP’s Sharad Bansode defeated then MP Sushilkumar Shinde. In 2019, Shinde was again trounced by Lingayat seer Jaisiddeshwar Shivacharya. Data reveals that Bansode participated in just seven debates in Lok Sabha against the national average of 67. Shivacharya took part in 28 debates, while the national average was 47. Bansode asked just 43 questions and Shivacharya 112, against the national average of 293 and 210, respectively.
Calling this election a fight to save the Constitution, Praniti said, “Election to the Solapur Municipal Corporation has not been held for the last two years. The city receives water once a week. There are no funds for development work. Solapur elected two MPs in the last 10 years. They got a golden opportunity to develop the city, but they didn’t.”
Satpute, on the other hand, has challenged Praniti to discuss the Centre’s contribution. “From water pipeline to Smart City work, the Centre has spent huge funds in the last decade. On the contrary, Sushilkumar Shinde, as Union minister and CM, didn’t do anything for So lapur. So, Praniti should tell the public what her father has done.”
Praniti’s allegations are, however, not completely baseless. In 2016, Solapur was among the 20 cities selected for the Smart City project. A special administrative wing was set up for its implementation. However, eight years later, the Centre’s assessment puts the city among the six worst performers. While no major infrastructure work has been initiated, the plan to acquire 40 electric buses has been stalled over poor response from private operators. Reeling under a severe water crisis, people see their taps run dry for nearly six days a week. Water level in Ujani dam, the city’s main supply source, is depleting fast as there was scant rainfall last monsoon.
The only reserved LS seat for SCs in western Maharashtra, Solapur was traditionally one of the “safest constituencies” for Congress. While BJP galloped to victory riding the Modi wave in 2014, what worked in its favour in the next elections was the support of Lingayats (20% or 3.5 lakh voters). BJP in 2019 also convinced Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar to contest. This helped divide Dalit, Muslim and Dhangar votes.
“Congress candidates had traditionally got votes from Dalit and Muslim com munities in Solapur. But Ambedkar secured 1.70 lakh votes. That was a big blow to Shinde, who lost by a margin of 1.58 lakh votes,” a political observer said.
But this time, the observer pointed out, BJP has neither fielded a Lingayat candidate nor is VBA in the fray. “Besides, there is a negative impression among people about the poor performance of the BJP MPs in the last two terms.”
BJP is trying to woo the Padamshali community that controls most of the factories producing chaddars and towels. The community had given the party its first MP from western Maharashtra — Lingraj Valyal from Solapur in 1996. In his recent speech, PM Modi recalled his ties with the community. “During my childhood, a Padamshali family in Ahmedabad used to feed me three to four times a month. They were poor and used to live in a chawl. But they never let me sleep hungry.”
BJP, too, never misses a chance to target Congress. Praniti, on the day she filed her nomination, brought the famous doppelganger of Shah Rukh Khan — Ibrahim Qadri — for campaigning. BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla was quick to write on X that after peddling fake surveys, Congress was using deep fakes, and called it another scam of the grand old party.