Nagpur: Feeling suffocation in politically factional tug-of-war between Sulekha Kumbhare and Ranjit Salfekar, that too under his own legislative assembly constituency’s most important segment, Kamptee, MLA and Guardian Minister of Nagpur district as well as Maharashtra State Energy Minister, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, is unable to decide as to which of the two he should embrace.
It may be noted that during the recently concluded state assembly election campaign in favour of Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP’s official candidate for Kamptee segment, Ranjit Saflekar had campaigned hard from within the party while Sulekha Kumbhare had campaigned from outside the party. Both of them had hoped that they would be placed on a cabinet-level post in certain corporations (Mahamandal) and enjoy the red-light car status if the BJP came to power, and their names recommended by Bawankule as well as Nitin Gadkari (now Union minister). But none of them has received any desired benefit, because there are other BJP leaders on their desired race in the Kamptee segment. It is thus difficult for Bawankule to satisfy all the loyalists.
Moreover, Bawankule is in a fix, because if he favours Kumbhare, he cannot just ignore Safelkar, his one-time close-in-arms political supporter.
The other side of the fact is that there has cropped up such a severe bitterness between Kumbhare and Salfekar that they do not like to see the face of each other. After becoming Kamptee MLA and Maharashtra Energy Minister as well as Nagpur district Guardian Minister, Chandrashekar Bawankule started showing his inclination towards Kumbhare just keeping in view his own political future. It is because Kumbhare has a better political image in Kamptee segment as well as in the entire Nagpur district, and people approach her to seek political favours and they get their jobs done while Safelkar is popular among people of criminal background, his influence at police stations, jail and courts is well know. He is friend of land-mafias, and all types of criminals who are used as exploiters during elections.
Sources informed that now the scenario is changing. Bawankule is trying to do away with Safelkar. He even did not want to fulfill Safelkar’s wish to become Kamptee municipality vice president, and preferred the name of Saza Seth, former municipal vice president. But, he had to bow to the pressure tactics of Safelkar. Such a development then had irked Kumbhare. However, Bawankule with the help of Kumbhare has BJP influence over Kamptee municipality.
Bawankule has realized that Safelkar might become a great hurdle on his way in future, yet he is helpless to treat him on par with Kumbhare and install him on a cabinet-level post in any state government run corporation (Mahamandal).
Observers say that there was a time when Bawankule used to visit Kamptee, he preferred sitting at Safelkar’s office for hours and chat. But now winds have changed. Now Safelkar has become like a piece of bone stuck up in throat, and his recommendations on various counts are ignored.
– Rajeev Ranjan Kushwaha( rajeev.nagpurtoday@gmail.com )
