Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Four-cornered contest in Hatkanangale

The Hatkanangale constituency across the Kolhapur and Sangli districts was dissolved as a part of the implementation of delimitation in 1976. The seat again came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementation of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies.

Kolhapur/Sangli: Spread across two districts of Kolhapur and Sangli, the Hatkanangale seat of Maharashtra is witnessing a four-cornered contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and it could be anybody’s game.

This constituency was dissolved as a part of the implementation of delimitation in 1976. The seat again came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementation of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies.

Of the crucial factors here is prominent farmers’ leader Raju Shetti, the founder of Swabhimani Paksha, the political wing of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

Shetti commands influence and popularity in the region. In the 2009 polls, Shetti defeated Nivedita Mane of Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

In the 2014 general elections, Shetti defeated Kallappa Awade of the Congress. However, in the 2019 polls, Nivedita Mane’s son Dhairyasheel Mane of undivided Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena defeated Shetti.

Raju had been close to the Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA at different points of times, however, in 2024, Shetti is maintaining equidistance from Maha Yuti (NDA) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A).

Besides Shetti, the three other candidates are Dhairyasheel Mane, the sitting MP, who is now part of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Satyajeet Patil-Sarudkar of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Dadasaheb Chavgonda-Patil of Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).

The four candidates have made the contest interesting.

The seat has six Assembly segments of which one, the Jan Surajya Shakti is supporting the ruling BJP-led alliance, one is with the Congress, two with NCP (SP) and two have Independents. They are Shahuwadi (JSS- Vinay Kore); Hatkanangale-SC (Congress - Raju Awale); Islampur (NCP(SP) Jayant Patil, Shirala (NCP(SP) Mansingh Naik); and Independents in Shirol (Rajendra Patil) and Ichalkaranji (Prakash Awade).