Four friends are playing cards while sitting in the shade of an open hall on a hot afternoon in Neknoor village of Cage assembly constituency of B Lok Sabha constituency of Beed (Maharashtra), Maharashtra. They seem to have a spirit of harmony, but in the May 13 elections they say they will vote for candidates according to the caste they belong to.
This time 41 candidates are in the fray in Beed, but the main contest is between NCP (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane and BJP's former Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, while Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has fielded Esho Hinge.
Playing his next card, Bhima Ganji claims, “All the Maratha votes here have united in favor of Bajrang Sonawane like the Muslim votes. Due to this, non-Marathas will vote for BJP.''He said that the number of Muslims is about 50 percent. In the card game, his three friends are Abhiman Shinde, a Maratha, Ganpat Gir (from Gosavi community – Vimukt Jati and Nomadic Tribe) and Nagesh Raut (from OBC community). Ganji also belongs to OBC community.
Referring to the NCP (SP) election symbol, Muzzamil Shaikh (52), who runs a transport business in the village, says, "This time the bugle will sound not just in Neknoor but in entire Beed."
Neknoor resident Bhagwat Kale (52), a Maratha and a former 'kar sevak', who claims he visited Ayodhya during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1992, says this is the first time that he is confused because he had never visited Ayodhya during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1992. Have voted. “We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, but this time the community is not happy with the party because of the reservation issue and the statements of some of its leaders,” says BJP leader Kale.
Neknoor is perhaps an example of what is happening in the villages of Constituency B.As voting for this seat is scheduled on May 13, deep caste fault lines are evident in almost every village in the district following the agitation by Maratha reservation activist Mano Jarange last year. What has deepened the divide is the police lathicharge on protesters in Antarwali Sarti village adjacent to Jalna district and the riots in Beed, where houses of MLAs were set on fire. Beed is one of the eight districts of Marathwada. , the region grapples with issues such as economic backwardness, frequent droughts and high rates of farmer suicides. It has six assembly constituencies – Gevrai, Majalgaon, Beed, Parli, Kej and Ashti. There is Mayuti in five assembly seats.MLAs (three NCP and two BJP), while one is from NCP (SP).
There are 21.42 lakh voters in the constituency.
Members of the Munde family have represented the Beed Lok Sabha seat since 200 - starting with Pankaja's father and former Union minister late Gopinath Munde. H was re-elected in 2014, but died in a road accident, necessitating a by-election, which was won by his daughter Pritam (Pankaja's younger sister) in 2014. He retained the seat in 2019.But this time BJP fielded Pankaja instead of Pritam. Time. Pankaja, who has represented Parli assembly seat, the family's pocket borough, since 2009, lost to her cousin Dhananjay Munde in 2019. But this time, Dhananjay has thrown his weight behind Pankaja as both are now part of the ruling Mahayut alliance.
Gopinath Munde was considered one of the biggest OBC leaders in the state, after his death, Pankaja has presented herself as a leader who advocates the interests of the OBC community.Anger on the ground is visible against both established parties, but more against the ruling party. The agricultural crisis is also an important factor, with many complaining that farmers have not got good prices for cotton, soybean and onion. This year crops have been ruined due to lack of rain.
Kiran Dhoble (28), a Maratha whose father died by suicide last year after his cotton crop failed due to lack of rain, says this year he produced 11 quintals of cotton on his 4.5 acres of land , for which he got a price of Rs 66,000. ,
But the cost of building it was Rs 70,000, says Dhoble, a resident of Gevrai in Raj Pimpra. What worries him is that his father had taken a loan from a private moneylender, though he is unaware of the amount.Besides this, there is also a gold mortgage loan of Rs 1.22 lakh from a co-operative bank.
According to official data, nearly 600 farmers have committed suicide in Beed district alone since 2022 – 270 in 2022, 269 in 2023 and 59 in 2024 so far.
Lack of employment opportunities in the district has compounded the problem. Political observer Jagdish Pingale says there was a sympathy factor for Mundes in the last two elections, but now it has reduced.
“Maratha reservation will play an important role in the constituency and the contest is expected to be tough,” he says.The votes of the Muslim community will play a major role this time and whoever emerges victorious will win by a very narrow margin.
Munde's supporters also agree. "When two communities (Muslims and Marathas) are not voting for you, it will definitely not be an easy contest," says an NCP worker.
Vishwanath Dongre, a Shiv Sena worker from Beed taluka, says, "Jarange is going for the Marathas here. No Maratha in the villages is ready to vote for Ta (Pankaja). Despite our convincing, they are not attending her meeting. Are not ready to come for." ।"
This time 41 candidates are in the fray in Beed, but the main contest is between NCP (SP) candidate Bajrang Sonawane and BJP's former Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, while Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has fielded Esho Hinge.
Playing his next card, Bhima Ganji claims, “All the Maratha votes here have united in favor of Bajrang Sonawane like the Muslim votes. Due to this, non-Marathas will vote for BJP.''He said that the number of Muslims is about 50 percent. In the card game, his three friends are Abhiman Shinde, a Maratha, Ganpat Gir (from Gosavi community – Vimukt Jati and Nomadic Tribe) and Nagesh Raut (from OBC community). Ganji also belongs to OBC community.
Referring to the NCP (SP) election symbol, Muzzamil Shaikh (52), who runs a transport business in the village, says, "This time the bugle will sound not just in Neknoor but in entire Beed."
Neknoor resident Bhagwat Kale (52), a Maratha and a former 'kar sevak', who claims he visited Ayodhya during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1992, says this is the first time that he is confused because he had never visited Ayodhya during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1992. Have voted. “We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, but this time the community is not happy with the party because of the reservation issue and the statements of some of its leaders,” says BJP leader Kale.
Neknoor is perhaps an example of what is happening in the villages of Constituency B.As voting for this seat is scheduled on May 13, deep caste fault lines are evident in almost every village in the district following the agitation by Maratha reservation activist Mano Jarange last year. What has deepened the divide is the police lathicharge on protesters in Antarwali Sarti village adjacent to Jalna district and the riots in Beed, where houses of MLAs were set on fire. Beed is one of the eight districts of Marathwada. , the region grapples with issues such as economic backwardness, frequent droughts and high rates of farmer suicides. It has six assembly constituencies – Gevrai, Majalgaon, Beed, Parli, Kej and Ashti. There is Mayuti in five assembly seats.MLAs (three NCP and two BJP), while one is from NCP (SP).
There are 21.42 lakh voters in the constituency.
Members of the Munde family have represented the Beed Lok Sabha seat since 200 - starting with Pankaja's father and former Union minister late Gopinath Munde. H was re-elected in 2014, but died in a road accident, necessitating a by-election, which was won by his daughter Pritam (Pankaja's younger sister) in 2014. He retained the seat in 2019.But this time BJP fielded Pankaja instead of Pritam. Time. Pankaja, who has represented Parli assembly seat, the family's pocket borough, since 2009, lost to her cousin Dhananjay Munde in 2019. But this time, Dhananjay has thrown his weight behind Pankaja as both are now part of the ruling Mahayut alliance.
Gopinath Munde was considered one of the biggest OBC leaders in the state, after his death, Pankaja has presented herself as a leader who advocates the interests of the OBC community.Anger on the ground is visible against both established parties, but more against the ruling party. The agricultural crisis is also an important factor, with many complaining that farmers have not got good prices for cotton, soybean and onion. This year crops have been ruined due to lack of rain.
Kiran Dhoble (28), a Maratha whose father died by suicide last year after his cotton crop failed due to lack of rain, says this year he produced 11 quintals of cotton on his 4.5 acres of land , for which he got a price of Rs 66,000. ,
But the cost of building it was Rs 70,000, says Dhoble, a resident of Gevrai in Raj Pimpra. What worries him is that his father had taken a loan from a private moneylender, though he is unaware of the amount.Besides this, there is also a gold mortgage loan of Rs 1.22 lakh from a co-operative bank.
According to official data, nearly 600 farmers have committed suicide in Beed district alone since 2022 – 270 in 2022, 269 in 2023 and 59 in 2024 so far.
Lack of employment opportunities in the district has compounded the problem. Political observer Jagdish Pingale says there was a sympathy factor for Mundes in the last two elections, but now it has reduced.
“Maratha reservation will play an important role in the constituency and the contest is expected to be tough,” he says.The votes of the Muslim community will play a major role this time and whoever emerges victorious will win by a very narrow margin.
Munde's supporters also agree. "When two communities (Muslims and Marathas) are not voting for you, it will definitely not be an easy contest," says an NCP worker.
Vishwanath Dongre, a Shiv Sena worker from Beed taluka, says, "Jarange is going for the Marathas here. No Maratha in the villages is ready to vote for Ta (Pankaja). Despite our convincing, they are not attending her meeting. Are not ready to come for." ।"
