Shivaji descendants in a close contest with Shinde camp MPs. kolhapur news

Kolhapur: A day after his candidature was announced in the first week of March, Shahu Chhatrapati He said that the purpose behind his contesting parliamentary elections was to “save India from turning into an authoritarian regime”. If it was a veiled attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre, the head of the former royal family of Kolhapur minced no words when he attacked the current government in Maharashtra a few days later.
Addressing a campaign rally, he said he was unsure whether the anti-defection law was in force in the state. “Maharashtra saw a change in government twice (2019 and 2022). If you don’t want the law then abolish it. If you really want this law to be implemented then it needs to be reformed. Maharashtra is unstable. “We don’t want instability to continue forever.”
However, the 76-year-old credited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for strengthening the law, which, he said, Rajiv Gandhi had brought in during his tenure as Prime Minister. Interestingly, the 12th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the first Congress candidate for the Kolhapur Lok Sabha seat since 1999.
Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is standing in a direct fight against him. Sanjay MandlikCurrent MP.
For Mandlik, his fight is not against Shahu Chhatrapati but for the “self-respect of the people of Kolhapur”. “I am not seeking votes on the basis of sentiments, but on the basis of work done in my constituency,” he said at a recent rally. The rightful heir of Raja Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, and mere connection with his family does not make one his successor.”

To ensure Shahu Chhatrapati’s victory, Congress workers are banking on the legacy of his great-grandfather, former Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, who was described by Babasaheb Ambedkar as the “torch bearer of the social justice movement”.
Shiv Sena’s Mandlik, on the other hand, is channeling the legacy of his father and four-time Kolhapur MP Sadashivrao Mandlik to secure a second Lok Sabha term. In one of his speeches, Mandlik went a step further and claimed that his father was the ‘ideological successor’ of Shahu Maharaj.
When talks on seat sharing began among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, Congress’ Kolhapur unit chief Satej Patil said the announcement of the candidate would be a surprise. People became aware of this when Shahu Chhatrapati shared the stage with Sharad Pawar during a rally organized after the split of NCP. What happened next was another turning point.
Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed Kolhapur, saying it (Undivided Sena) had won the seat in 2019. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut even suggested in a social media post that Shahu Chhatrapati should be given Rajya Sabha nomination. Clarity on Shahu Chhatrapati’s candidature came when Pawar met him in person.
It was not an easy journey for Mandlik also. Big brother BJP in the alliance, which is currently in power, accused Mandlik of not coming to the constituency for the last five years. However, the coalition partners decided to set aside their differences and unanimously approved Mandlik.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Patil and NCP’s Kolhapur unit chief Hasan Mushrif ran a covert campaign – ‘Aamcha Tharle’ (We have decided) to defeat their own candidate Dhananjay Mahadik (NCP), leading to Mandlik’s victory. It was confirmed. Patil was apparently avenging his defeat to Dhananjay’s cousin – Amal Mahadik (BJP) in the 2014 assembly elections. Patil had accused Dhananjay of working to ensure Amal’s victory and his defeat despite Congress and NCP being in alliance.
However, the dynamics have changed in 2024. Politicians have switched sides, and Shiv Sena and NCP have parted ways.
Mahadik, who has joined BJP, is now campaigning for Mandlik. Patil, who played an important role in Mandlik’s 2019 victory, is now attacking him fiercely. Meanwhile, BJP workers, who had made serious allegations against NCP’s Mushrif, are seeking votes in Mandlik’s favor to ensure his victory.
Shahu Chhatrapati is not the first member of the former royal family of Kolhapur to jump into the electoral fray. In 1976, Vijayamala Chhatrapati, daughter-in-law of Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, contested and won the Hatkanangale (then Ichalkaranji) Lok Sabha seat as a Peasants and Workers Party candidate. He defeated Congress’s Lieutenant General (retd) SPP Thorat, who was chosen by late Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan. In 2004, Malojiraje Chhatrapati, one of Shahu Chhatrapati’s two sons, won the Kolhapur North assembly seat on a Congress ticket. Five years later, in 2009, Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, another son of Shahu Chhatrapati, was defeated by Sadashivrao Mandlik in Kolhapur. Now Mandlik’s son is contesting elections against Sambhajiraje’s father.