Sunanda on her way to draw water. (Photo by Prashant Nadkar)
Every day, Sunanda Nitin Choudhary (23), a villager from Bhandagepada in Palghar district, makes 10 to 12 trips to draw water from a well situated on the banks of the dry Sakhri river — located at a distance of one kilometre from her house. Half a kilometre from the well, work on a massive elevated concrete bridge is underway. Every monsoon, the river floods, along with it the low-lying bridge that the villagers use to commute. The result: Communication to the outside world snaps and villagers are confined to their houses for three to four months.
With the Lok Sabha constituency set to witness a bypoll on May 28, the villagers are unanimous on what they want the most from their MP — water. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga in January. The election has brought to the fore the worsening relations of allies BJP and Shiv Sena. Months after Wanaga’s death, Shiv Sena had given its ticket to the late MP’s son, prompting BJP to cry foul. While Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), Congress and CPI have also fielded candidates, BJP and BVA are emerging as main contenders.
Across the district, every village has access to stone-structured wells. But villagers have to climb down and scout for low-lying ones where water is available during the summer. Seventy kilometres from Bhadangepada is Kundacha Pada at Jawhar taluka. Kisan Kanoji Digha, who grows paddy on an acre, said: “Every two to three days, a tanker comes and fills our well. But it lasts for only half-an -hour. We have lived with this problem for decades.”
“In our locality, the men held a meeting last night. They said we should all vote for those who will bring development to our village,” said Sunanda in Bhandagepada. Such meetings have been also been held in other tribal hamlets of Vikramgad, Palghar, Jawhar and Dahanu. A former sarpanch of Kundacha Pada, Vishnudev Korde, said: “Irrespective of the diverse political leanings, the demands of the villagers are driven by the gram sabhas, catering to community welfare.”
Palghar, which was created by bifurcating Thane district in 2014, is home to around 30 lakh people — with an almost equal number of urban and rural residents. The district has an annual budget of Rs 500 crore. After Wanaga’s demise, his wife and two sons joined the Shiv Sena, just before the BJP was to nominate a candidate. As Uddhav Thackeray went on to field Wanaga’s son Shrinivas, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the Sena chief knew that BJP was considering fielding a family member of Wanaga for the bypoll.
To connect with voters, Sena is banking on Wanaga’s legacy. The catchline of its poll posters, which show Shrinivas with folded hands and bowed head, reads: “A vote for Shiv Sena is a vote for late Chintaman Wanaga.” The BJP poster, on the other hand, speaks of Sena’s “betrayal”. “A vote for BJP is vote for honesty, which is inherent strength of Palghar,” it reads. It has fielded Rajendra Gavit, who had played a significant role in the creation of a separate Palghar district. For the villagers, what matters most is development.
Maini Devja Korda, a tribal woman in Palghar, said: “We are not bothered about what they are saying. We want to know what will they do for our village. Will we get work, food and water?” Raju Wagh, a farmer in Vikramgad wondered why Sena and BJP were fighting in the name of Wanaga. “They should work towards taking his good work forward… The BJP was willing to give the ticket to his family. They should have stayed with BJP,” he added.
“Nobody has seen Shrinivas Wanaga’s work till now. We have all known his father’s good work. Why should children of politicians get ticket? People would always vote for good work,” said Sachin More, a young professional in Palghar city.