From rallies to reels, last-ditch attempts are being made to woo voters in Ahmednagar, a key Lok Sabha constituency in north Maharashtra that goes to polls on May 13. While sitting MP Dr Sujay Vikhe-Patil got Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to campaign for him on Friday, rival candidate Nilesh Lanke, who quit the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to join Sharad Pawar, has taken to social media with reels highlighting the crisis being faced by onion growers in the state.
The run-up to the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Ahmednagar has seen a series of personal attacks and the continuation of the age-old political rivalry between veteran NCP leader Sharad Pawar and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.
Vikhe-Patil has left no stone unturned to ensure a victory for his son and Mahayuti candidate Sujay, including organising a well-attended rally that saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, campaigning. However, it may not be a cakewalk for Sujay as he seeks a second term, especially as issues like falling prices of onions and unsold stocks have gained prominence. Milk prices and the impact of the agitation for Maratha reservation are also at play, apart from concerns of water shortage.
Meanwhile, Lanke’s supporters say his connect with the people, his door-to-door meetings and visits across villages during a month-long yatra, and Sujay’s alleged inaccessibility will work in his favour. Sharad Pawar too has campaigned for Lanke.
However, Sujay’s supporters say Lanke faces several complaints about bullying industrialists in the Supe industrial area.
There are six Assembly segments under Ahmednagar district, the largest in Maharashtra. Both BJP and NCP (SP) have a sizeable following here, and hence, experts say it will be a neck-and-neck fight. Two segments are with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction, two with the BJP, one with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the sixth Assembly segment was represented by Lanke, who resigned as MLA to join the NCP (SP).
There are 36.59 lakh registered voters, up from 34.38 lakh since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In 2019, the voter turnout was 64.40 per cent, as per data. This time, a Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) committee has been set up to ensure high voter turnout.
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