In Maharashtra’s 8 seats, shifting caste equations, Oppn focus on local issues unsettle ruling NDA

The discourse across the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra that are scheduled to vote in the second phase on April 26 is witnessing a shift, with a shuffle in traditional caste equations, the rise of the vocal rural voter and the dominance of local factors.

Perhaps the most significant of these new factors is the silent wave among Marathwada’s Maratha community, in the wake of the directions of Maratha reservation agitation leader Manoj Jarange Patil, appealing to Maratha voters not to think of helping a particular candidate win, but instead to defeat those who are opposing OBC status to Marathas.

Out of the eight constituencies going to the polls Friday, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Buldhana and Yavatmal-Washim are in Western Vidarbha, while Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani fall in the Marathwada region of the state.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance banked on PM Modi, who held three public rallies in the region, along with campaigns by Shah.

For the Opposition INDIA bloc, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held one rally in Amravati on the last day of campaigning on Wednesday, but the rest of the campaign was led by local party leaders, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

The Opposition, in fact, managed to keep the campaign hyper-local in several seats, making the functioning, efficiency and local connections of the candidate the issue.

Marathwada

Despite repeated assurances by the state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that the 10% quota provided to the socially and educationally backward among the Marathas will survive in the Supreme Court, there is a strong undercurrent to the opposite effect within the community — giving the ruling Mahayuti alliance some