Beed: The political landscape in Beed has been thrown into disarray following the State Election Commission (SEC)’s recent announcement on the Zilla Parishad (ZP) and Panchayat Samiti elections. While the SEC sounded the election bugle on Tuesday for several districts, Beed’s exclusion from the list has left local aspirants and political parties deeply disappointed.
The district, which has been under the control of government-appointed administrators for nearly four years, will continue without an elected local body for the foreseeable future.
The terms of the Beed Zilla Parishad and 11 Panchayat Samitis expired in early 2022. Since then, these local self-government bodies have been run by administrators. Although administrative formalities, including ward restructuring, reservation draws and the finalisation of voter lists, were recently completed, elections were widely expected this time. However, the latest SEC announcement has confirmed that “Administrator Raj” in Beed will continue.
Anticipating an imminent poll, many hopeful candidates had already begun aggressive campaigning. Former members and new aspirants toured their constituencies, took up pending local issues and, in some cases, even funded road repairs from their own pockets.
Some leaders went as far as visiting sugar factories in Western Maharashtra to connect with migrant sugarcane labourers from Beed. With the postponement, these candidates now feel that the significant time and financial resources invested over the past two months have gone to waste.
There is, however, one logistical advantage to the delay. A large number of sugarcane cutters from tehsils such as Kaij, Dharur, Ashti, Shirur Kasar and Georai have migrated for work. Had elections been held now, candidates would have faced the heavy financial burden of transporting these labourers back to Beed to vote. By the time the next phase of elections is announced, the crushing season is likely to be over, allowing workers to return home naturally and saving candidates substantial expense.
The political atmosphere in the district remains charged due to intense rivalry between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Bharatiya Janata Party and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction). Following the recent restructuring, the district now has 61 Zilla Parishad seats and 122 Panchayat Samiti seats, making it a crucial battleground for all major players.
