The splitting of alliances has majorly benefited caste-based politics in northern Maharashtra, especially Khandesh, where anti-incumbency, ideology and scams have been sidelined, and political parties are focusing on prominent castes and communities to generate support.
Castes fielding their leaders from all parties "People plan to vote for their caste candidate only because they want to their representative in the state assembly," said Ahmad Javed, a resident of Jalgaon.
Ranjeet Shinde, a political observer, said that a month ago, it seemed that it was going to be a clear sweep for Sena-BJP. "But the split is giving NCP the edge because of the heavy presence of the NCP Maratha, OBC and Muslim leaders in Khandesh. Congress is nowhere except in its limited traditional pockets. Due to the multi-corner fight, the anti-incumbency and scam issues are side-lined. Every prominent caste has fielded its candidates in any available party ticket so no one is sure which caste rather than party will fetch the victory," said Shinde.
Its anybody's game
"NCP and Congress candidates are fighting for existence so they are putting all their efforts to sail through this fierce battle. There is a lot of confusion and no one will tell whom he will vote and particular person will be elected. Anything can happen in this election," said Ishwar Patil, a resident of Shirpur.
Dinesh Mali, an onion farmer said, "We had a lot of expectations from Modi ji. But in the last four months, our crops did not get even reasonable prices, forget the minimum support price. I am confused now because of his anti-farmers and pro-trader policies. I will decide on the last day of voting," said Mali.
Is the Modi factor diminishing?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed four high-voltage rallies in Khandesh, yet the BJP is having a tough time due to the continuous changing equations and anti-farmer policies. "Farmers have realised that there is no 'acche din' in store for them in BJP's policies. The cotton and onion farmers are worst affected. Once these farmers were die-hard supporters of BJP, now they are distancing themselves and blaming Modi for the low prices of their crops. It will surely benefit us," said Hemant Deshmukh, former state minister and senior NCP leader in Khandesh.
For Sena, enemy's enemy is a friend
Ramesh Patil, a Shiv Sainik, said that after splitting with from BJP, their cadre has become more aggressive. "You will see a surprising result in the assembly polls in Khandesh. We have decided to defeat the so-called prominent BJP leaders in Khandesh. We will teach them a lesson. The enemy's enemy is our friend now," he said.
Existing MLAs in Khandesh
NCP: 7
Sena: 3
BJP: 5
Congress: 5
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