Cane growers from the sugar bowl of Maharashtra are happy this time as the statutory minimum price (SMP) for sugarcane has been hiked to Rs 107.76 per quintal for the upcoming crushing season from Rs 81.18 a year ago. The politicians are happier and the happiest are political big-wigs of the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) democratic front as they want to en-cash this “feel-sweet factor” during the state assembly elections scheduled on October 13. However, these sugar barons are also swallowing the bitter pill of intra-party rebellion in this “green-belt” of the state.
While issues like growing unemployment and migration of youngsters for education and jobs to cities like Pune remain ignored, political empires and their internal rivalry is popping up as the only issue in this cash-rich region of Maharashtra.
Sada Shinde is a farmer from Umbraj town, located some 130 kilometres south of Pune in Satara district. Shinde’s both sons study in Pune as he earns for livelihood through farming. “We have more than sufficient water for farming but the lifestyle is not satisfactory. Good roads, round the clock electricity, high-education establishments and industrial development remain a distant dream for us. Politicians hardly find time for developmental issues from their political and family battles,” Shinde told Business Standard.
The six districts that fall in the western Maharashtra belt- Pune, Ahmednagar, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur, produced more than 60 per cent of state’s 4.5 mlT sugar output in the last crushing season. Since most of the co-operative sugar mills are controlled by Congress-NCP politicos, the polity in this region has always distanced itself from the Shiv Sena (SS)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance. This time however, the calculations have turned complex as the NCP-Congress front is fighting against its own workers in more than 40 out of the 70 constituencies that fall in the western Maharashtra region.
In Satara and Sangli districts alone, politically affluent rebels are contesting 11 seats out of the 16 against the ruling Democratic Front. State home minister Jayant Patil (Islampur constituency), the chancellor of Bharati Vidyapeeth Patangrao Kadam (Palus Kadegaon constituency) and political big-wig Madan Bhosale (Wai constituency) are few of the Congress-NCP top-brass leaders facing rebellion from their own house. In some cases, the rebels are so strong that the Sena-BJP alliance has withdrawn its candidates to support Congress-NCP rebels.
“Political families, their empires and rebellion are just cliché here. How do common people benefit out of this? The sugar-lobby takes key decisions to benefit its own interests and we are completely humiliated,” stated Navnath Mhatre, a grape grower from Sangli district. Political observer and analyst Shriram Pawar said, “It is unfortunate to note that crucial issues such as roads, water scarcity, education and employment are not being discussed by both the political factions; especially in Satara district.”
During the recent Lok Sabha elections, the western Maharashtra region did not produce expected results; specifically for the NCP. This Sharad Pawar-led party could win only three seats here: Pawar himself from Madha constituency, his daughter Supriya Sule from Baramati and the scion the 17 th century maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, Udayan Raje Bhosale from Satara.
Five years ago, out of the total 75 seats from these six districts, the NCP had managed to win 26 seats from this region while Congress had bagged 16. The Sena-BJP was jointly reduced to mere 19 while independents and others won 13 seats from these six districts. Post delimitation, this region now has 69 seats. With the given circumstances, the Congress-NCP front will have tough task ahead to keep the sugar bowl sweet.
