Hingoli is one of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. It comprises three districts – Yavatmal, Nanded, and Hingoli. The six assembly segments of this Lok Sabha constituency are Umarkhed (BJP), Kinwat (BJP), Hadgaon (Congress), Basmath (NCP), Kalamnuri (Shiv Sena), and Hingoli (BJP). This election, Hingoli is witnessing an extremely tight race, the outcome of which is incredibly difficult to predict.
Hemant Patil of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is the incumbent MP here, but the party and its Mahayuti alliance have given the ticket this time to Baburao Kadam Kohalikar. The other top contenders are Nagesh Ashtikar of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) for the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and Dr BD Chavan of Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.
Polling will take place in Hingoli on April 26, in the second round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.
Unemployment and Emigration: Hingoli has no small or large-scale industries. The region has also not seen any major central or state projects. This has driven up the unemployment numbers here. People, especially the youth, have had to emigrate to Nagpur, Mumbai, or Pune in search of employment and higher education. According to ground inputs, emigration due to unemployment and higher education affects the majority of the population in Hingoli and will have a detrimental impact on the Mahayuti alliance.
Welfare Schemes: Welfare schemes launched by the central government here have had a mixed response and implementation. The PM Awas Yojana has reached beneficiaries in both rural and urban areas. There has been a positive response from the people. However, the Jal Jeevan Mission has had an adverse effect on the people. According to ground reports, the mission’s implementation has been erratic and allegedly has been shown as completed on paper, while in reality, many areas remain without tap water connections. This has led to criticism from the constituents, fanned the anger towards the local administration, and has given growth to allegations of corruption. Whether this directly impacts PM Modi’s image here or the BJP-led alliance’s chances remains to be seen.
Farmer Issues: There are numerous farmer issues in Hingoli that the administration has turned a blind eye to. Farmers in the region depend on rainfall for their irrigation needs as there are no other sources of water to irrigate their fields, and the majority of farmers fall under the small and marginal category. This means that they do not have the resources to get a private irrigation facility set up for their farms. In times of less rainfall, such as last year, the farmers are left stranded. There are three dams around Hingoli, but the water distribution has been planned in a way that people in the Hingoli district receive no water from the dams. Moreover, farmers have also been left devoid of their compensation for crop failure due to below-average annual rainfall, which has created a drought-like situation in Hingoli. According to reports, such has been the pressure to pay off loans taken for cultivation that farmers are even willing to sell off their organs.
Development: Hingoli has been bereft of any development except for the construction of a few highways providing connectivity and a Turmeric Research and Training Centre. There are no industries in the region. Such has been the neglect that Hingoli has been declared as a No Industry Zone. There are few basic healthcare facilities and no major educational institutions in the area. People travel to Aurangabad or Nanded for medical treatments. A medical college has been announced but work on it has not yet started much to the disappointment of the constituents.
Water Scarcity: Despite being surrounded by three dams, Hingoli receives no water from them. Many villages in the constituency especially in the Hingoli, Basmath, and Kalamnuri areas still do not receive tap water and women have to travel for miles for their daily water needs. The water from the dams is supplied to the Nanded region, and the people of Hingoli feel neglected. Moreover, the distribution plan has been approved by the Sena-BJP alliance which will again have a detrimental impact on its chances of winning the election. The scarcity of clean, fresh water also drives the population to drink contaminated water giving rise to diseases. The lack of health infrastructure has exacerbated the issue.
Railway Connectivity: There has been a long-standing demand from the people in Hingoli for direct railway connectivity to Mumbai. The issue is raised in each election cycle, and politicians in search of votes, promise delivery, but up until now, no work has been done to deliver rail connectivity to the people.
Lack of Government Offices: Despite being the district headquarters and the centre of the Hingoli Lok Sabha constituency, the city of Hingoli has very few government offices. People feel they have been neglected by the government in favour of Nanded district, parts of which come under the Hingoli Lok Sabha constituency. People believe one of the main reasons for this is the fact that the last two MPs have come from the Nanded region. Add that to the water distribution plan, and people in Hingoli feel that they are being subdued by Nanded-based leaders.
Medical College: The state’s medical education department issued a Government Resolution (GR) in November last year to set up a medical college and hospital in Hingoli at a cost of Rs 485 crore for construction.
Turmeric Research and Training Centre: The State Agriculture Department has released Rs 10 crore for the upcoming Turmeric Research and Training Centre near Basmath in Hingoli. The training centre also plans to set up an autonomous institute, dedicated to promoting research in turmeric production within the state. Funds worth Rs 100 crore have been pledged by the government for the facility.
Road Infrastructure: Three national highway projects worth Rs 3,695 crore have been implemented across Maharashtra, which will also provide additional connectivity to Hingoli. The four-lane national highway 161 from Akola in Maharashtra to Sangareddy in Telangana becomes an important route for promoting trade in both states. Another project worth Rs 1,037.4 crore has also been inaugurated by union minister Nitin Gadkari in Hingoli. It will improve the connectivity of the Marathwada region with Telangana and Karnataka. There has also been a proposed construction of CC Roads and RCC drains for the municipal corporation of Hingoli at a cost of Rs 90 crore.
Railway Infrastructure: Electrification work on the Pune-Aloka section crossing Hingoli has been completed at a cost of Rs 211 crore. Moreover, many passenger amenities have been installed in various stations across the constituency, such as footbridges at Bodhadi Bujurg, LED lighting across seven stations, and provision of cover at Hingoli railway station. Three new trains have also been launched to provide better connectivity to the people.
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