Nashik, May 12 (IANS) A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion since 2009, the Dindori (ST) reserved Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra's Nashik district, will witness a direct confrontation between a Union Minister and a newcomer in the 2024 Parliamentary polls.

The main contest is between NDA-BJP's Union Minister Bharati P. Pawar and INDIA bloc-Nationalist Congress Party (SP)'s Bhaskar M. Bhagare, plus Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA)'s Malati R. Dhomse.

The polling comes amid unrest among the onion farmers of what is Asia's biggest onion hub.

The current situation has potentially become "embarrassing" as the Centre's recent move to lift the ban on onion exports to help the farmers did not exactly give the desired results.

The implementation of the move itself was mired in a huge controversy -- first it was permitted for Gujarat, and after an uproar, to farmers in the rest of India, ostensibly to maintain the domestic prices.

However, the outcome has apparently gone awry as the domestic prices of onions have actually fallen -- contrary to the intentions, and again, the farmers are at the receiving end.

This could have repercussions on the prospects of the sitting MP, particularly since the onion farmers had been demanding relief like roll-back of the 40 per cent export duty on the kitchen stable and related issues for more than nine months.

"What should have happened much earlier came during the election season, and started with Gujarat before allowing the rest of India and that too with conditions. This has raised questions about the government's intentions and the farmers feel they are back to square one," said a wholesale onion trader, Rajesh Shahu, in Mumbai.

Maharashtra has 22 onion-producing districts sprawling across 12 Lok Sabha constituencies, but Dindori (ST) is the leader and the onion-growing farmers all over have been hit, particularly the tribal farmers here, he added.

The government's latest move attracted all-round political flak both for the timing and the manner of implementation without having the desired effect.

Accordingly, this pent-up angst could spill over to the voting arena, Shahu explained, and it remains to be seen who will shed tears and who will celebrate with cheers after the May 20 elections.

Coming into existence after the 2008 delimitation exercise, the Dindori (ST) seat has elected a BJP candidate – Harishchandra Chavan twice in 2009-2014, and Bharati Pawar in 2019, a former (undivided) NCP leader, who was also rewarded with a central minister of state berth.

Bharati Pawar, who quit the NCP just before the 2019 LS polls, is the daughter-in-law of the late NCP strongman Arjun Tulshiram Pawar, a former state minister who was also a close aide of Sharad Pawar.

Dindori (ST) LS seat comprises six Assembly segments and all are controlled by the ruling MahaYuti alliance in the state, with four held by Nationalist Congress Party and one each by Shiv Sena and BJP.

They are -- NCP's Kalwan-ST (MLA Nitin Pawar), Yevla (MLA Chhagan Bhujbal), Niphad (MLA Dilip Bankar) and Dindori-ST (MLA Narhari Zirwal); BJP's Chandwad (MLA Rahul Aher) plus Shiv Sena’s Nandgaon (MLA Suhas Kande).

All the Assembly segments are renowned onion producing centres along with the huge wholesale markets like Lasalgaon, Pimpalgaon, Yevla and Niphad which are located in Dindori (ST).

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)