First time in 33 yrs, no bow and arrow in Konkan

Mumbai: For the first time in 33 years, the Konkan, once said to be a Shiv Sena bastion, will not have the bow and arrow symbol in an election. The two Konkan Lok Sabha constituencies of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Raigad have been given to the BJP and NCP. While Narayan Rane is fighting from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg on a BJP ticket, the NCP has picked Sunil Tatkare. Political observers said that Konkan voters are the Shiv Sena’s biggest base in the city and the rest of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the Shiv Sena’s exit from Konkan could affect voting patterns here, especially in the Marathi community. On the flip side, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is fighting both the seats on its mashaal (flaming torch) symbol nominating Anant Geete from Raigad and Vinayak Raut from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. “The Sena has banked on the Konkan voters and the region is seen as a Sena bastion. The Uddhav Sena is fighting two seats there but the Shinde Sena is not contesting Raigad and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. The Sena’s biggest leaders have been from the Konkan in the past, and these include Narayan Rane, Uday Samant and Deepak Kesarkar, who are ministers in the govt in the state and Centre. This will have an impact on the Konkani voters in Mumbai and they have an emotional connection with the Konkan,” said a political observer. “With Narayan Rane’s candidature the BJP will be fighting this seat after 35 years and it will be the first time that the Sena’s bow and arrow symbol will not be seen in this poll in 33 years in the Konkan. Since 1996 the Sena has won the seat with the exception of 2009 in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. Before delimitation, the BJP had fought the Ratnagiri Lok Sabha polls in 1984 and 1989. Sridhar Dattatreya and Tatya Natu had fought the seat. Both of them had lost and the Sena had not contested these seats then. Since 1991, the Sena has been fighting the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat in an alliance with the BJP,” an observer said.Soon after taking over, chief minister Eknath Shinde had announced that a Konkan Region Development and Planning Authority will be established on the lines of Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority (MMRDA) for the comprehensive development of all districts in Konkan. The decision is being seen as an attempt by the Shinde faction to get a footing in the Konkan region, which had traditionally been a stronghold of the undivided Shiv Sena. The Konkan voters are not only significant for the assembly polls, they also have a big impact in the BMC elections.