Shiv Sena’s karmabhoomi Konkan region face many issues

Raigad: The coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra is known for its picturesque beaches, hill forts, sea forts, scenic lush green environs, its unique cuisine and quiet locations - but when it comes to political supremacy, the battle could be fierce.

The geography is unique - on one side is the Arabian Sea and on another the Sahyadri mountain ranges of the Western Ghats.

It was for this strategic reason that legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj established his capital at the Raigad Fort - where he was coronated 350 years ago and where he laid the foundation of the “Hindavi-swarajya” or self-rule of the Hindu people.

Excluding the six seats of Mumbai, the Konkan region has six seats - Palghar (ST), Bhiwandi, Thane, Kalyan, Raigad and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.

Large stretches of Mumbai’s adjoining districts of Palghar-Thane-Raigad comprise the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The region was once known for its 'money-order economy' - as people from Konkan formed Mumbai’s workforce.

Its where the biggest support came for late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, who took up the cause of Marathi-manoos.

The region’s political dynamics has changed over the past couple of decades.

In 2009, the Congress won two seats and its partner NCP one, while Shiv Sena won two seats, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi got one.

In 2014, the Shiv Sena got four seats while the BJP two.

In 2019, the Shiv Sena maintained the tally of four, while BJP and NCP managed one seat each.

Being the Shiv Sena bastion, it would see a direct fight between Balasaheb’s son Uddhav Thackeray, the new head of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Eknath Shinde, the chief leader of Shiv Sena and the current Chief Minister.

In the mid-2000s, when Narayan Rane, a former chief minister and ex-leader of the opposition, was expelled for rebellion against Thackeray, he joined Congress and maintained dominance in the twin districts of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.

For two terms coinciding with the Congress-led UPA rule - Rane’s son Dr Nilesh Rane won the polls, however, riding on the Narendra Modi-wave in 2014 and 2019, undivided Shiv Sena’s Vinayak Raut won the elections. Rane’s younger son Nitesh Rane is an MLA. Incidentally, the Ranes are part of the BJP.

Raigad was won by Sunil Tatkare of undivided Sharad Pawar-led NCP, however, he is now the state unit President of the NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Shinde himself is MLA from Thane while his son Dr Shrikant Shinde is an MP from Kalyan.

One of the major issues before the locals is the condition of the Mumbai-Goa Highway.

Another big debate is that people of Konkan had always rejected mega-projects - Dabhol power project, Jaitapur nuclear power project, and the Nanar super refinery project, which has now been shifted to the Barsu village.

Thackeray’s party has always sided with the protesters.

One of the mega--projects for which both the sides - Maha Yuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi - would claim credit is the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link or Atal Setu, which connects Sewree in Mumbai to Nhava Sheva across the harbour. The two other similar bridges in the world are Hangzhou Bay Bridge in China (36 kms) and King Fahd Causeway in Saudi Arabia (26 kms).

Konkan can well be described as Shiv Sena’s karmabhoomi - and the two factions would see an intense fight.

What happens in Palghar would be interesting as many parties are interested - and it's this seat from where the differences between Shiv Sena-BJP saffron alliance started in 2018 and ultimately led to the split a year later.