Something unthinkable happened in Baramati a few days ago.
Sharad Pawar, founder of the Nationalist Congress Party, visited the family of late Sambhajirao ‘Lalasaheb’ Kakde, ending his 55-year-old political rivalry with the Kakdes and their supporters. The feud between Pawar and the Kakde clan is one of the fiercest rivalries in Maharashtra politics, be it in Lok Sabha polls or assembly polls or elections to sugar cooperatives in Pune district. But this Lok Sabha elections is a different story altogether. Pawar, now head of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), had to knock on the doors of the Kakdes to seek support for his daughter, Supriya Sule, who is facing the toughest battle of her political career. Sule is contesting against her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, fielded by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Similar unimaginable scenarios are playing out across the state as the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc (Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra) are battling it out for every vote in each of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha constituencies. Maharashtra politics has taken near-chaotic twists and turns between 2019 and 2024, following the splits in the Shiv Sena and the NCP, toppling of the MVA government and swearing in of Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government. In 2014 and 2019, the saffron alliance (with the Shiv Sena intact and then part of the NDA) swept the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, winning 42 of the 48 seats. Such a sweep is next to impossible this time though. And that is why political leaders have realised the importance of burying old rivalries.
Esta historia es de la edición May 19, 2024 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 19, 2024 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Pressure Points
Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world
War Over Wounded Earth
For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra
Say no to continual elections
Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.
Fabulously, fashionably funny
The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?
All in the family
The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.
Death no bar
Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States
The Lotus POTUS
You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.
RAY OF HOPE
Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).