Buldhana LS seat: See-saw battle, like in 2009, on cards

Nagpur: The 2019 Lok Sabha results in Buldhana could be a repeat of 2009 polls, if analysts are to be believed. A see-saw battle is on cards between Shiv Sena and NCP on Thursday when the constituency would go for counting of votes.
Unlike 2014 polls, when sitting Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav was favourite and won by a margin of 1.59 lakh votes, 2019 is predicted to be tough fight after NCP fielded its strongman Rajendra Shingane, the former minister of state.
Both Jadhav and Shingane, who had fought a high pitched battle in 2009 LS polls, acknowledged that 2019 would be a repeat of that election, when the momentum fluctuated both ways, before the former was declared winner by a narrow margin of 28,000 votes.
Analysts term Jadhav as favourite to win his third term, as Shingane was not in the fray after losing in 2009 polls.
The district administration has made preparations for the smooth counting at Industrial Training Institute’s (ITI) campus, where 25 rounds would be completed and final results are expected to come at 10pm, due to introduction of VVPAT, according to district information officer (DIO) Nilesh Tayade.
There would be 14 tables each for all six assembly constituencies — Mehkar, Khamgaon, Jalgaon, Buldhana, Chikhali and Sindkhed Raja. “The counting would begin with manual ballots and Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETBPS) followed by EVM and lastly, the VVPATs. There would be total 94 tables in the counting hall. About 400 poll officers would be involved in the entire process, besides security and others,” he told TOI.
There are 12 candidates in the fray for the Buldhana seat. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s (VBA) Baliram Siraskar, a sitting MLA, is expected to get most of votes from Khamgaon and Jalgaon-Jamod constituencies.
Jadhav said he too expected a “tough fight” with Shingane in comparison to 2009 polls, but was confident of securing hat-trick. “In 2014, the rival candidate (NCP’s Krishnarao Ingle) was relatively unknown in comparison to Shingane. But I would be winning by a margin of 60,000-70,000 votes,” he said.
After April 18 polling, he campaigned for saffron alliance partner in Raver and then attended many public functions including community weddings for interacting with the voters.
Shingane too is confident of toppling Jadhav by a margin of 50,000 votes. “This time, I would get a sizeable number of votes from all six constituencies with maximum of them coming from Mehkar and Sindkhed Raja. I don’t believe in caste equations, but I am sure that people have voted for me from all communities cutting across lines of caste, creed and religion. Indeed there would be tough fight, but this time change is imminent in Buldhana,” he said.
He too had campaigned for party candidates in Mawal and Raver constituencies.
Both Jadhav and Shingane, belonged to dominant Maratha community and their victory would depend on how many votes they secure from their own people. Cooperative sector is another dominant factor in the Buldhana politics and both are major players of it. While Shingane served as chairman of Buldhana Cooperative Bank, Jadhav was his deputy.