Maharashtra assembly polls: Rift in Atram family as daughter goes against father

Mumbai: Politics has engendered a rift in yet another royal family in Maharashtra, as Bhagyashri Atram, daughter of the senior Nationalist Congress party (NCP) leader Dharamraobaba Atram, is preparing to contest the forthcoming assembly election against her own father. She is likely to join the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) later this week and contest from the Aheri assembly constituency, which is currently represented by her father.
“I am planning to contest the upcoming elections from the Aheri assembly seat. I will not be able to disclose more about it as of now,” Bhagyashri told Hindustan Times. NCP (SP) insiders, however, said she is likely to join the party by September 12.
Her father, a four-time MLA and the state’s food and drugs administration (FDA) minister, has publicly denounced her and her husband Rituraj Halgekar, saying they need to be thrown into the river for “treachery”.
The Atrams are descendants of the former Raja of Aheri, and the rift between father and daughter is reminiscent of the acrimonious tussle within the Kolhapur royal family, between Congress MP Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and his ambitious son Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, who has floated a new party called Swarajya Sangathana.
“People come and go and also leave the party. But there’s no need to pay attention to them,” Dharamraobaba Atram said in Gadchiroli on Saturday, while addressing the ‘Jan Sanman Yatra’, NCP’s statewide tour to connect with voters. Those involved in splitting political parties for the past 40 years were now trying to break his family, he said, adding,
“Some people from my family are going to use me to join another party. People from the Sharad Pawar-led faction are looking to pit my daughter against me. Don’t trust them and don’t trust my daughter and son-in-law.”
The minister further said that his daughter and son-in-law had betrayed him and they should be thrown into the nearby Pranhita River. “How can a girl who couldn’t stand by her father ever stand by you? You need to consider that. Is she going to bring justice to the people,” he asked the audience.
NCP president and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was also present when the minister made these statements, urged Bhagyashri not to revolt against her father.
“I want to tell you that even now, do not make this mistake and stay with your father. No one can love you as much as a father does,” Pawar said. People do not like those who split families to further their own political interests, he noted, adding, “I have experienced it myself and have accepted my mistake.”
Bhagyashri, who has been active in politics for the past decade, has served as president of the Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad. She stood for assembly elections for the first time in 2014, when she contested from the Gadchiroli assembly segment on an NCP ticket, but failed to register a victory.