Sena sweats it out in Aurangabad

AURANGABAD, February 25: One of the greatest handicaps the Shiv Sena is facing in this erstwhile divisional headquarters of the Nizam state ...

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AURANGABAD, February 25: One of the greatest handicaps the Shiv Sena is facing in this erstwhile divisional headquarters of the Nizam state in its run up to the Lok Sabha polls is that there have been no Hindu-Muslim riots in this communally sensitive district!

It’s the fear of riots that has made people vote for it in a massive way, and helped it retain this seat since the last one decade.

No one has any grudge against its candidate, Pradeep Jaiswal, who is seeking a second term. He is quite popular with the masses, despite his shady past. But in the absence of palpable communal tension, these factors take a backseat in the voters’ mind.

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In a triangular fight, Pradeep Jaiswal last time had emerged victorious with a margin of 1.14 lakh votes over his nearest rival Suresh Patil of the Congress.

Now with a Congress-Republican Party of India-Samajwadi Party pact, and the seriousness with which the Dalits and Muslims here have accepted it, the Sena is really sweating it out.

Ramkrishna Baba Patil, theCongress candidate, entered the field as an underdog. Publicly shunned by senior leader Sharad Pawar for having aborted the prospects of his chosen one Baburao Pawar, he was not sure who would campaign for him.

The basic strength of the Congress was the enthusiastic support of the Muslims and the Dalits.

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And then came Sonia Gandhi! Things began changing rapidly for the Congress so much so that now even Sharad Pawar has decided to put in his bit for Patil.

Political observers feel that the Congress has gained a good control over three crucial vote banks Muslims, Dalits and the poor.

The Shiv Sena, thus has become dependent on urban votes. But then, its well-oiled polling machinery has time and again proved that it can attract these urban votes with great mastery.