Prithviraj’s ambitions monstrous, says ‘Kaka’

Undalkar has been striving to dismantle that image too, accusing Chavan’s close aides of brokering various deals.

Undalkar at a rally in Karad South.

Fighting his first assembly election, Prithviraj Chavan is the sole target of the campaign of seven-time Congress MLA Vilas Patil-Undalkar, now rebelling as an independent candidate. Undalkar, locally referred to as “Kaka”, has chosen not to target the party for declining him a ticket. At public rallies and street-corner meetings, Undalkar has been saying Chavan’s “monstrous ambitions” have destroyed the Congress and senior party leaders in Maharashtra.

“He is a threat to Maharashtra, and a threat to the Congress party. A number of Congress leaders have called me supporting my bid to ward off this threat. There will be a political explosion if I declare the names of those who have called me,” Undalkar says.

“I have no complaints against the Congress. But this man has destroyed my family and the party in the state in the last three-and-a-half years,” says Undalkar. Though he has been sparing the Congress, what should be a concern for the party is that Undalkar’s rallies have been drawing large crowds.

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The Chavan camp has been projecting him as the “ambassador of development” and playing up his clean image. Undalkar has been striving to dismantle that image too, accusing Chavan’s close aides of brokering various deals. And there has been mockery too: “Chavan managed to poll just 5,000 votes in his home of Patan taluka when he lost the Lok Sabha poll in 1999. That is a measure of his popularity.”

Chavan’s other major challenger, the BJP’s Atul Bhosale, has focused his campaign on lack of development under Chavan. Hailing from a Congress background, Bhosale alleges he was sidelined by Chavan’s close aides.

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