Indapur constituency watch – Hindustan Times
PUNE: This time, sitting MLA Dattatray Bharne is facing Harshvardhan Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party/NCP (SP) for the third consecutive time in Indapur, which is the last tehsil in Pune district neighbouring the politically vibrant tehsil of Baramati.
Located on the Pune-Hyderabad national highway, Indapur is strategically important for agricultural and allied activities. After the split in the NCP in 2022, Dattatray Bharne joined the NCP (Ajit Pawar) which created tension within the Mahayuti over seat negotiations on Indapur.
Considering the new political alignments, Harshvardhan Patil decided to leave the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the NCP (SP) after getting assurance of a ticket. Patil, who was earlier with the Congress, now joined the NCP (SP) via BJP. Patil who was with the BJP during the Lok Sabha (LS) polls, allegedly supported NCP (SP) candidate Supriya Sule which he acknowledged in his speech. This created controversy. Elaborating on his move, Patil said, “We have taken workers to a meeting in which they asked me to fight the election at any cost. Considering the new political arrangements, workers suggested that I strengthen the hands of Sharad Pawar and accordingly, we joined the NCP (SP).”
However, Patil’s candidature was opposed by local NCP leaders including Sonai Milk director Pravin Mane, Pune District Central Cooperative Bank director Appasaheb Jagdale, and former Indapur deputy mayor Bharat Shah. NCP (SP) leader and MP Sule tried to convince them but they were not in a mood to listen to anything. Due to this, Mane filed as an independent candidate and Indapur is now witnessing a triangular fight between Patil, Bharne and Mane. Mane said, “As a loyal party worker, I was seeking a ticket from Indapur but the ticket was denied and given to some leader imported from outside. On one hand, we have Sharad Pawar (saheb’s) party and on the other hand, we have Ajit Pawar’s party. But we need to be worried because common people are with us.’’
Subsequently, Harshvardhan Patil suffered another jolt as his cousin brother Mayur Patil and Appasaheb Jagdale left him and supported NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidate Bharne. Mayur Patil said, “All cooperative institutes in Indapur are run by dictatorship. No political leadership took steps to develop the Indapur tehsil.” Mayur Patil’s decision further split the Patil family as another relative, Dudh Ganga chairman, Prashant Patil, had already withdrawn support to Harshvardhan Patil.
Harshvardhan Patil said, “In the past 50 years, Sharad Pawar made many leaders but they left him at regular intervals. The same is happening with him. Though few people are leaving me, the support of the common people in Indapur gives me the strength to fight the polls.” Recently, Bharne was criticised for distribution of saris and oil cans in villages. However, Bharne said, “I don’t need to distribute anything as people know me for my work and I am confident that they will vote for me without any doubt.’’
However, due to new political developments daily, core issues such as water, warehouses for fruits, delayed cane payments etc. are missing from the poll campaign. As per the 2011 Census, Indapur has a population of 3.70 lakh. Maratha and Dhangar communities are prominent. Apart from these, SC (15%) and Muslims (5%) are prominent communities likely to play pivotal roles in the upcoming assembly elections.
