Nagpur: The Mahayuti wave also took a toll on firebrand leader and four-time MLA from Achalpur in Amravati district, Bachchu Kadu, who heads the Prahar Jan Shakti Party. Kadu is known for his aggressive style and has made headlines for protests climbing atop water tanks. He lost to BJP's Pravin Tayade by a margin of 12,000 votes.
Kadu, who often took up farmers' issues, was part of the Parivartan Mahashakti, an alliance of 35 splinter parties which projected itself as the third front. Even as Kadu could not be contacted, other leaders in the alliance accepted that they were overwhelmed by the Ladki Bahin impact. In Vidarbha, Parivartan Mahashakti contested 12 seats.
The alliance was led by Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje's Maharashtra Surajya Paksha, Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Paksha and Kadu's Prahar Janshakti. The leaders said the third front would take up more realistic issues like the falling soybean prices, agrarian crisis, unemployment, and price rise during the elections. Sources said a strong anti-incumbency factor worked against Kadu.
Wamanrao Chatap, who contested from Rajura in Chandrapur, said it has to be accepted that the Ladki Bahin scheme was the game changer in the elections. "It's the question of people's choice. Perhaps they were swayed because of the dole," he said.
Shetti also expressed disappointment, saying that none of the issues taken up by his party appealed to the voters.
Chatap, a former MLA who contested from Swatantra Bharat Paksha, lost to BJP's Deorao Bhongle, making it to the third slot. In Shetti's domain, Hatkanangale, however, a lesser-known party, Jan Surajya Shakti's candidate Ashok Mane won, defeating Congress' Raju Awale. Swabhiman Paksha's Sujit Minchekar was at the third spot.
At Akot in Akola district, Lalit Bahale, a farm activist of Swatantra Bharat Paksha, garnered less than 6,000 votes. The seat went to BJP. This is the political arm of the farmers' outfit Shetkari Sangathana. Anil Ghanawar, the president of Shetkari Sangathana, blamed Kadu and Raje for the debacle, saying that the two controlled the seat allotment and sidelined others. Chatap, however, countered that it was done with full consensus.
(With inputs from Sumit Kulkarni)