The Maharashtra assembly elections could turn even more interesting with the emergence of a potential third front. Constituents of the new alliance, called the Parivartan Maha Shakti, include the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana led by Raju Shetti, the Swarajya Paksh headed by Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s Maharashtra unit under Shankar Dhondge, the Prahar Janshakti Party of Omprakash Babarao Kadu alias Bachchu Kadu and cadres of the original Shetkari Sanghatana of Sharad Joshi.
Former two-term MP Shetti said the alliance would contest all 288 seats. “Efforts are on to bring Prakash Ambedkar (Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi), Kapil Patil (Samajwadi Ganarajya Party), Hitendra Thakur (Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi) and Manoj Jarange Patil (Maratha reservation activist) in our alliance,” he said.
Shetti hopes to bring together smaller parties and social movements which have put in decades of work for social development and change. “Once a new government is in power, people like us take up issues, face police wrath for nearly four years and ten months. And when the next elections are announced, the established players come forward, spend money and win. So what we plan to do this time is to put the force of our goodwill behind a promising and visionary person in every constituency and urge people to vote for him.’’
The planning for this alliance began more than two months ago. Initially, leaders and activists working on farmers’ issues, such as Shetty, Dhondge and Wamanrao Chatap, met to discuss the possibility of an alliance. Then came Kadu and Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati. Shetti has also met Ambedkar, who is yet to join the alliance.
Kadu, who was with the saffron Mahayuti alliance till recently, said he had warned the Shinde government that if it failed to fulfil his party’s demands, he would withdraw from the alliance. “We organised a morcha in Sambhaji Nagar in August and raised 18 demands. Our manifesto will focus on farmers and agricultural labourers, and we will also take up issues like inequality in education, health care and industrial development.”
Kadu is confident that the new alliance will play a crucial role in forming the next government. “Did Deve Gowda have the numbers when he became prime minister? We will form the government,” he said. Shetti is more cautious, though. He said the alliance would have collective leadership, with a coordination committee taking decisions on issues like government formation or whom to support and on what terms.
Shetti is unhappy that certain leaders like Jayant Patil of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party call them the BJP’s ‘B’ team. “Do they own Maharashtra? History has shown that these people were responsible for the defeat of stalwarts like Madhu Dandavate and Bapusaheb Kaldate,” said Shetti. “People know that I am anti-BJP.”
However, the strength of the leaders of the new alliance is limited to certain pockets. For instance, Shetti is influential in Kolhapur and Sangli districts, Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati has support in Kolhapur and Nashik, Chatap is influential in certain pockets of Vidarbha and Bachchu Kadu is strong in Amravati district.
Senior journalist and political commentator Abhay Deshpande said that if the new alliance became strong, it would lead to the division of anti-establishment votes, thereby helping the ruling Mahayuti alliance. “They will cause damage [to the opposition] in their pockets of influence. The alliance can become a potent combination if Ambedkar or Jarange Patil joins it. Otherwise, its impact will be limited,” he said.
Political scientist Suhas Palshikar said the front would garner sizeable votes. “The front would attract uncommitted voters from all sides. It will be important in specific pockets, but not statewide. The division of votes would mean that a smaller vote size would be sufficient to win a constituency. So, any smart player locally can benefit from the third front,” he said.
What remains to be seen is whether Ambedkar or Jarange Patil joins forces with the emerging third front. If that happens, Maharashtra could well be heading for a hung assembly.