NAGPUR and MUMBAI: Vidarbha’s political battleground has ignited intense rivalries, where ambition often clashes with family ties. The once inseparable siblings now find themselves on opposite sides of the political spectrum, as a father prepares to take on his daughter, each vying for a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

In Gadchiroli’s Aheri, four-time Maharashtra MLA and Food and Drugs Minister Dharamraobaba Atram, fielded by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is being challenged by his daughter and former Zilla Parisad president Bhagyashree Atram-Halgekar , of the NCP (SP).

In Saoner, independent and rebel Congress candidate Dr Amol Deshmukh is locked in a battle with his brother and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dr Ashish Deshmukh, while Yayati Manohar Naik is challenging his brother minor and NCP candidate, Indranil Manohar Naik, in Pusad.

The two Deshmukhs are sons of former Maharashtra minister and former state Congress president Ranjit Deshmukh, while the Naiks are sons of former Maharashtra minister Manohar Naik, who has represented Pusad four times.

The Atram, who come from the Aheri royal family, are engaged in a fierce feud. With Atram’s nephew Ambarish entering the race as an independent, the race has become a triangular political dispute involving the entire family. Aheri is a Maoist-affected tehsil town in the tribal-dominated Gadchiroli district. Ambarish, a former BJP minister, failed to get a BJP ticket due to coercion from the alliance.

“It is a betrayal. I don’t trust my daughter and son-in-law. These people have abandoned me,” said Dharmaraobaba, who accused NCP chief Sharad Pawar of playing divisive politics by driving holes in political parties. Now, at the end of his career, he is creating divisions within families, he said.

“Bhagyashree is committing political suicide by fighting against me. I know the world is talking about this rift between father and daughter, but I am also aware that there is a history in the state,” said an unperturbed Dharmaraobaba, who is contesting the seat for the fifth time. “I have four decades of experience,” he said. “I have helped pave the way for development in Aheri and have also ensured that the benefits of Ladki Bahin reach the last woman in the district,” she said.

Bhagyashree, equally confident about confronting her father, said: “When my father was kidnapped by the Naxalites, it was Sharad Pawar saheb, the then chief minister, who secured his release.” The Maoists had kidnapped Dharmaraobaba in 1991 and later released him in exchange for the release of staunch Maoist Shivanna from jail.

Bhagyashree, who was mentored and introduced to politics by her father, did not mince her words and said, “Emotions will not stop me. There is no turning back. I don’t care at all who I’m competing against. “This fight will be against an opponent, no matter who it is,” he said.

In Saoner, Dr Amol Deshmukh filed his nomination as an independent after he was denied candidacy by the Congress, which nominated Anuja Kedar, wife of former Maharashtra minister Sunil Kedar. Sunil cannot contest the elections due to his recent conviction in a multi-crore cooperative banking scam. Dr Amol Deshmukh had contested the 2019 assembly elections from Ramtek but was unsuccessful. His elder brother Dr Ashish Deshmukh, who won the 2014 state elections from Katol, is now contesting from Saoner as a BJP candidate. Ashish will take on his younger brother Amol and Congress candidate Anuja Kedar in the upcoming elections.

In Pusad, Yayati Naik, the elder son of former minister Manohar Naik, made a strong bid to get an NCP (SP) ticket. However, with the party nominating Sharad Maid, Yayati is now running as an Independent against Maid, and his younger brother Indranil, a sitting NCP MLA.

Pusad has long been a stronghold of the Naik family. They are backed by the Banjara community, whose support could be a deciding factor in the race being fought here. Manohar Naik is the nephew of late Vasantrao Naik, former chief minister of Maharashtra, who represented Pusad six times, from 1952 to 1980. Manohar’s brother Sudharkarrao Naik also served as chief minister and represented the constituency four times. Currently, Indranil is the MLA from Pusad, while his father Manohar has won from Pusad four times – once as a Congress candidate and three times as an NCP candidate.

The family is also fighting against the family in other parts of the state. In Kannad, in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Harshavardhan Jadhav, the former MLA is contesting against his ex-wife Sanjana Jadhav. Sanjana alias Ranjana is the daughter of former Union minister and BJP leader Raosaheb Danve and is contesting on a Shiv Sena ticket against her husband in the backdrop of a family feud that has been going on for years.

Harshavardhan Jadhav, son of former MLAs Raibhan Jadhav and Tejaswini Jadhav, was a two-time MLA from Kannad. He won his first election as a candidate of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, while in his next term he represented the Shiv Sena. He won the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, defeating Shiv Sena candidate Chandrakant Khaire. Jadhav, who had resigned as MLA in July 2018 in support of the Maratha reservation issue, is known for his “eccentric” decisions.

In his election affidavit filed along with his candidature filed last week, Jadhav claimed that he has been “separated and not yet divorced.” According to people close to the family, Raosaheb Danve secured a ticket for his daughter to teach her estranged son-in-law a lesson.

Sanjana said, “The Shiv Sena has a strong cadre base in the constituency and the party workers insisted that I contest as a Sena candidate. “People are happy with the performance of the state government and I am sure of victory.”