In 2014, Devdutta Nikam, the then-chairman of the Shri Bhimashankar Cooperative Sugar Mill primarily based in Manchar, ran for the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate for the Nationalist Congress Occasion (NCP). Dilip Walse Patil, the MLA for Ambegaon, constantly accompanied him. A decade later, Nikam and Walse Patil discover themselves in a brand new electoral contest, however this time, they’re opponents.
The competition in Ambegaon in Maharashtra Meeting elections is not going to solely take a look at Walse Patil’s affect over the constituency but additionally assess the enduring affect of Sharad Pawar on the emotions of the area, which has traditionally supported the NCP for the previous 35 years.
Nikam is operating on behalf of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), whereas Walse Patil, the state’s cooperation minister, is competing for the NCP (Ajit Pawar). Walse Patil, one in all Sharad Pawar’s most trusted lieutenants, has raised eyebrows and shocked many together with his choice to affix Ajit Pawar.
Other than Walse Patil’s alleged abandonment of Pawar senior, water appears to be a big problem in some areas of the district. Many farmers help Nikam, acknowledging his earlier position because the Bhimashankar Cooperative Sugar Mill chairman and the Manchar Market Committee. His previous contributions have established a constructive fame among the many farming neighborhood, giving him a bonus over the present MLA.
Ashok Pekari, the sarpanch of Phalode village in Ambegaon, highlighted the unequal remedy of roughly 60 villages within the taluka. This contains almost 35 villages within the Bhimashankar space and round 30 within the Ahupe area, significantly regarding water distribution. Pekari identified that these villages have been promised reserved water following the development of the Dimbhe Dam mission within the Nineteen Eighties, however politicians have uncared for to uphold this dedication.
“Essentially the most difficult interval for us is from April to June once we rely on tankers for ingesting water. For the remainder of the yr, we depend on different sources. Nevertheless, the true battle lies in accessing water for irrigation,” he stated.
He additional claimed that over time, Rs 9,000 crore allotted by the federal government for Ambegaon’s villages and irrigation schemes had been misdirected or returned unused. “Regardless of the passage of time, the combat for irrigation water continues. In 2017, we formally organised below the ‘Kalamdai Adivasi Sinchan Jal Sangathan’ to combat for our water rights,” Pekari defined.
Shankar Mohdule, the union secretary, emphasised that the villages behind the Dimbhe Dam are dealing with extreme water shortage. “Many villages are nonetheless ready for water pipeline connections for irrigation. The dam originates in our space and flows via to Karmala taluka in Solapur district. Water is distributed to each space alongside the route besides ours,” he said.
Farmers, pissed off with the dearth of political motion, are contemplating voting for Nikam in hopes that his management will handle their long-standing issues. Raju Ghode, the sarpanch of Borghar gram panchayat, expressed his frustration by stating, “Those that stay close to the origin of the dam have the primary proper to the water, as it’s our rainfall that fills the reservoir. Moreover, displaced households—a lot of whom reside right here—additionally deserve precedence entry to the water.” He said that, regardless of the presence of roughly 60 villages, just a few have acquired water faucets below the Centre’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme.
“The irrigation division had initially reserved roughly 9 per cent of the dam’s water for the villages behind it. Nevertheless, not one of the political leaders, significantly these in energy for many years, made any severe effort to fulfil this promise. Our hope now rests with the brand new candidate,” Ghode stated.
When contacted, each Walse Patil and Nikam declined to answer these public grievances. Nevertheless, Patil’s long-standing dominance within the constituency is well-established. He first defeated Kisanrao Bankhele in 1990 to grow to be an MLA and has maintained his seat ever since. Within the final election in 2019, Patil secured victory with 1,26,120 votes out of a complete of 1,90,032.
