Prithviraj Chavan's 'clean image' may not be enough to help him win Karad

Karad, Satara: About 310 km from Mumbai, at the confluence of Koyana and Krishna rivers, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan is waging his biggest battle to get firmer grip on his home constituency of South Karad and in the state politics. But, he is facing a tough challenge posed by sitting MLA and Congress rebel Vilas Patil Undalkar, popularly known as Kaka, who has been supported by the NCP. For the first time, the former chief minister is contesting the Assembly election from South Karad constituency and is returning to the electoral arena after a gap of 15 years. Earlier, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991, 1996 and 1998, but lost in 1999. So far, he has not contested the Assembly election. Chavan came into state politics in 2010 after the then chief minister Ashok Chavan resigned over the Adarsh scam controversy. [caption id=“attachment_1748069” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] Chavan’s supporters are banking on his ‘clean image’ and development work done in the city. “At a time, when the charges of corruptions are being levelled against other leaders in the state, Chavan’s clean image is our biggest advantage. After Chavan became the chief minister of the state, he pumped in around Rs 1,800 crore for various development works in the district. Other candidates in the fray have nothing to say,” Anand Patil, Chavan’s chief campaign manager and Satara Congress district president, told Firstpost. Patil said that many people feel that Chavan should be given a chance to rule the state again. Chavan’s supporters are also raising the son of the soil card to get him elected to the Assembly. Chavan’s archrival, 79-year-old Vilas Patil Undalkar, has won this seat seven times as Congress candidate since 1980. But, he decided to file the nomination as an Independent after the party offered the ticket to Chavan. Kaka says that he is contesting the election because of the insistence of supporters. “I will do whatever I can for my supporters,” said Patil while addressing a meeting in Kole village in Karad. Undalkar supporters claim that he enjoys good support of people in the rural part of the constituency. “He knows the people and party workers by their first names,” said Anil Deshmukh, a staunch supporter of Kaka. He adds that Chavan does not have connect with the grassroot people in the area. Another Kaka supporter claimed that Chavan has done lot of injustice to Kaka. “Chavan has always opposed Kaka’s induction in the state ministry. Also, he has ruined Kaka’s family by falsely implicating his son in a murder case. Kaka’s son is behind the bars for around two years,” said a supporter. He said that with the support of NCP, Undalkar’s base has strengthened further in the city area. “Kaka has nurtured this constituency like a family. In the rural region, we don’t need to worry at all. Since NCP has supported us, they have good presence in the city area, which will help us in big way,” the supporter explained adding that Kaka has control over the vast network of cooperative institutions in the area, which is like to play a crucial role. Other candidates in the fray are BJP’s Atul Bhosale, a former Congress leader, who had fought the Assembly election in 2009 from Karad (North) but had lost. Bhosale is largely banking on the Modi factor and also promising development of the city. Shiv Sena has fielded Ajnikya Patil, son of Bihar governor and education baron DY Patil from the constituency. People in the Karad appear to be in dilemma on making the choice for the assembly election. “We know Kaka for more than three decades. This is our third generation that has been working with Kaka. But, the younger generation have a soft corner for Chavan and feels that Chavan should be given a chance,” said Bapu Kamble, a resident of Karad.