Congress struggles to hold onto Sangli seat in the face of alliance challenges

The Congress is going through a tough challenge to retain the Sangli constituency, its traditional bastion till the Modi wave felled the party’s citadel in 2014, in the seat-sharing talks with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

As the leaders from Sangli insisted on the party leadership to not let go the Sangli seat to alliance partner Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress state unit chief Nana Patole announced that the party will contest the constituency. Patole even went on to announce Vishal Patil as the party candidate from Sangli.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), however, expressed its displeasure on Tuesday, saying that they will now speak to the Congress leadership in Delhi.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut while reacting to Patole’s announcement said, “As a state unit chief of Congress, Patole should exercise restraint. In the seat-sharing talks earlier, Sangli was given to Sena. It’s a different thing that some people may want to indirectly help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).”

According to Raut, Sangli will be contested by the Sena in exchange for Kolhapur that Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a 12th-generation descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, will contest as a Congress candidate.

Raut’s remarks came hours after Patole and another Congress leader from Sangli Vishwajeet Kadam said the constituency should remain with the party, as it has been the norm since independence.

“The soil of Sangli has given farsighted and inspiring leadership to the country and Maharashtra, instilled with the Congress ideology. Hence, in a district where people have faith in the ideology of the Congress, this constituency should remain with the party,” Kadam said.

After Raut’s statement on Tuesday, Kadam said that the seat has not been decided yet.

“The Congress has a natural claim on Sangli. Since independence, the constituency has been seen as a Congress stronghold with late Yashwantrao Chavan, Vasant Dada and Patangrao Kadam representing the district. In 1999, when the NCP was founded, of the nine MLAs from Sangli district, six were from the Congress as late Patangrao Kadam ensured the party’s success,” said Kadam.

According to Kadam, party lost Sangli in 2014 as it lost many other seats as well. “We worked hard and revived the Congress in Sangli since the last three-four years. Of the six assembly seats in the district, two MLA are from the Congress and one from Sharad Pawar faction. He said that not a single MLA, zila parishad member or panchayat samiti member is from the Sena in the constituency.

“Our stand is that the demand of Sena is not justified, our claim is natural. Recently, we conducted a rally for Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and I personally assured participation of more than 40,000 people in Sangli district. So, the atmosphere is upbeat and hence we are fighting for it now. Now it’s up to the Congress leadership to ensure they give us a seat to contest the election,” he said.

In the past, key leaders from Sangli such as Vasant Dada Patil, Yashwantrao Chavan and Patangrao Kadam led the party. But now, things are different, and it’s getting harder for the Congress to keep Sangli with it after the Sena staked claim over it with party chief Uddhav Thackeray even announcing prominent wrestler Chandrahar Patil’s name as its nominee for the polls.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress are fighting polls as part of the MVA alliance which has the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) led by Sharad Pawar as its partner.

The Congress had in the past won all the Lok Sabha polls in Sangli till the Modi wave changed the scenario and BJP’s Sanjaykaka Patil emerged victorious in 2014 and 2019. This time too, the BJP has fielded Patil from Sangli.

On the current situation of the Congress in Sangli, Prakash Pawar, head, political science department, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, said, “The Congress may be on a path of decline in Sangli as leaders here have failed to address the aspiration of the new generation of people. Voters are conservative. Late Vasantdada Patil and other Congress leaders very well knew how to deal with them, unlike the current leaders.”