Mumbai. After winning seven seats in the Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has planned to focus on more than 80 seats in the assembly elections. Under this, he will organize more than 60 public meetings in different parts of Maharashtra. The special thing is that 20-25 of these meetings will be held in Marathwada region. In such a situation, the question arises that why has Eknath Shinde put so much emphasis on Marathwada? Marathwada has been the stronghold of Shiv Sena's traditional politics. Under the leadership of Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sena had made its strong identity in Marathwada. There are about 45 assembly seats in this region.

In the 1990s, when Bala Saheb's Hindutva-based politics gained momentum, Shiv Sena got strong support against Congress in Marathwada. Leaders like Moreshwar Save, Chandrakant Khaire, and Sanjay Shirsat worked for Shiv Sena in this region and the party steadily gained its hold there. In the nineties, due to fear of Bala Saheb Thackeray's Hindutva, many people preferred Shiv Sena as an alternative to Congress in Marathwada. This deepened the roots of Shiv Sena in Marathwada. People also did not displease Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena kept getting success in Marathwada in every election.

Eknath Shinde has also emerged as a symbol of Shiv Sena's Hindutva and his presence in Marathwada is considered important to strengthen the party. Apart from this, Shinde's focus on Marathwada is also important to increase his influence in the race for power in the upcoming assembly elections, especially when Shiv Sena is polarized and the party's leadership has changed.

According to political analysts, Shinde is also focusing on Marathwada because this region has been a traditional voter base for Shiv Sena and they have a strong political network here. They will try to strengthen their hold in this region and prove to be more effective than the opposition in the upcoming elections.

Split in Shiv Sena: Shiv Sena MLAs from Marathwada in support of Shinde
After the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Mahavikas Aghadi government, there has been a major split in the Shiv Sena and now five Shiv Sena MLAs from Marathwada are standing in support of Eknath Shinde. These MLAs from the Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) district are joining Shinde and giving him strength. After this development, it has become clear that Eknath Shinde has a special focus on Marathwada and now the scope of his politics in this region can become stronger.

Shinde's growing influence in Marathwada
It is clear from Shiv Sena's standing with Marathwada MLA Eknath Shinde that the regional leaders have increased their trust in Shinde. Shinde's increased focus on Marathwada, especially at this time when disputes are increasing within Shiv Sena, is considered very important from a political point of view. If Shiv Sena becomes strong under Shinde's leadership in Marathwada, then its strength can become a big challenge for the Mahavikas Aghadi.

Impact of Jarange movement and Maratha reservation
Meanwhile, the Maratha reservation movement has created a stir in the state politics. Manoj Jarange's name is being prominently taken at the center of the movement. He adopted an aggressive stance while demanding reservation from the state government, as a result of which Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena) suffered losses in the Lok Sabha elections. Especially this movement started in Antarwali Sarati village of Jalna district put the ruling party in the dock and gave rise to public anger against them.

This movement of Manoj Jarange can become a big issue in the upcoming assembly elections, and the impact of this movement in Marathwada can cause further damage to the Mahayuti. Election analysts believe that due to Jarange, the position of Mahayuti in Marathwada can weaken because the demands associated with the movement and the anger of the agitators were against the BJP and Eknath Shinde.

BJP also recognized the danger, more seats to Shinde in Marathwada
Manoj Jarange, who is the main face of the Maratha reservation movement, though has been targeting Devendra Fadnavis and BJP, but he has never made personal attacks on Eknath Shinde. Rather, Jarange also believes that only Shinde can find a solution to give reservations. This statement of Jarange can be seen as an indirect support for Shinde, and this is the reason why Shinde's candidates are unlikely to suffer much loss in Marathwada. Apart from this, the BJP also understood this situation and decided to give more seats to Shiv Sena in the seat sharing in Marathwada.

Trying to polarize Hindu votes,
so out of the 60 meetings to be held across the state, CM Shinde will hold 20 to 25 meetings in Marathwada. During this, he will further sharpen the allegation that Uddhav Thackeray has abandoned Hinduism. Shinde will also be seen trying to polarize Hindu public opinion by saying that the Congress party is favoring Muslim women. Through this, CM Shinde is focusing the most on Marathwada to ensure the victory of maximum MLAs of the Shiv Sena party.