Historically, the economy of the Konkan belt depended heavily on money orders from residents who had migrated to Mumbai for work after Maharashtra became a state in 1960. But, according to former Chief Minister Narayan Rane, the situation has changed significantly. The region has become self-sufficient, with exports of fish, mangoes, and cashews thriving, and youth increasingly turning to entrepreneurship. Infrastructure has expanded, and the region now enjoys better air and rail connectivity, alongside stable electricity and water supply.
“We’ve witnessed an economic transformation,” Rane said, as per PTI, adding that he hopes to develop Ratnagiri into a tourism hub, much like Sindhudurg. The former Shiv Sena MLA from Malwan, now with the BJP, first won the seat in 1990 and has since been a pivotal figure in Konkan’s political landscape.
With 75 of the state’s 288 assembly seats—including 36 in Mumbai—the Konkan region is poised to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the upcoming Maharashtra elections. The battle will be primarily between the ruling Mahayuti coalition and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), according to PTI.
State minister Chhagan Bhujbal, a veteran politician now aligned with the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), reflected on the evolving political alignments. Bhujbal, who was the lone Shiv Sena MLA elected from Mumbai in 1985, noted that while the urban regions may feel the greater impact of these shifts, the coastal belt remains deeply significant. He pointed to the split in the Shiv Sena, which has intensified the competition in places like Thane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s home district.
“More than 30 independents could be elected across Maharashtra,” Bhujbal remarked, suggesting they could play a critical role in Maharashtra elections 2024, PTI reported.
According to journalist Vaibhav Purandare, author of Bal Thackeray and the Rise of the Shiv Sena, the Sena’s rise in Mumbai and the Konkan came at the expense of the Communist and Socialist parties, which had once held sway over mill workers and their families. The Sena, founded in 1966, initially had support from the Congress as it took on the Communists, before evolving into a Hindutva-based party in the mid-1980s.
By 1990, the Sena had formed an alliance with the BJP, marking a pivotal shift in Konkan’s political landscape. This partnership, solidified on the Hindutva platform, diminished Congress`s influence in the region, which it had controlled since the early 1960s.
The decline of the Congress began in earnest after 1978, with the rise of the Shiv Sena in urban centres like Mumbai, according to PTI. Congress stalwarts and regional parties such as the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and the Socialist Party had once dominated the region. However, with the rise of prominent figures like Pramod Navalkar of the Shiv Sena, backed by Congress in the 1970s, the tide began to turn.
The BJP also made inroads in the coastal belt, particularly in Mumbai and its surrounding regions, following the Modi wave in 2014. Leaders like Hashu Advani, Ram Naik, and Ram Kapse were instrumental in building the BJP`s base, while the Congress continued to lose ground to regional players like the Shiv Sena and NCP, according to PTI.
In 2019, the political landscape shifted dramatically again when the once-rival Congress and Shiv Sena formed an alliance, a move that was followed by the Sena’s split into two factions. With the Maharashtra elections 2024 on November 20 fast approaching, all eyes are on these rival factions—one led by Chief Minister Shinde, backed by the BJP, and the other by Uddhav Thackeray.
Votes will be counted on November 23, and with Konkan’s strategic importance, the region`s results could well determine the next government of Maharashtra.
Source link
