For the last few days or so I was on the borders of Marathwada-Vidarbha, one of the comparatively backward regions of Maharashtra. It was really an awesome experience for me specially to watch and learn so called as politics. My mind continuously searched the threads as how one becomes politician in Maharashtra. All the threads led to one word and it was the co-operative sector of India. From the last thirty year or so this sector is collectively degraded and is on the line of diminishing in some years. However, it became the strong point for some people to become powerful. It is this sector with the help of which, they created the empires.
Now let us see how one becomes politician in Maharashtra. In general there are two or three ways. First, you have to born as a son of Congress Party leader. If not then second way is more conventional : You become Sarpanch that is the local head of the village then Member of Panchayat Samiti and then you have to con-quire the local body of Jilha Parishad. After this process the next task is simple, you have to take loan from District bank and have to set up a suger factory. In a year or so you will see yourself as a politician.
Co-operative sector include one best way i.e setting up a sugar factory. As a middle class family member you may think it to be a very difficult task. However, in Maharashtra it's not that too much difficult once you become member of Panchayat Samiti Or Member of a legislative assembly i.e M.L.A. For the money part of it, there are banks and these co-operative banks generally belong to politicians. So if you have a better manipulating quality then banks can help you very easily. ( note this banks are already debt ridden having notices of Reserve bank of India ). As your main agenda is to create an empire so you have to involve local farmers. (note : farmers of this region are already on the last stages of their life because of debt ). Farmers will generally invest money as their son will get the job according to the amount of money they invest. After you set up a sugar factory the process to generate the empire will start. First, the factory is generally inaugurated at empty place i.e away from district capital. So that a village automatically sets around the factory as factory require farmers for the production of sugarcane , workers, engineers, and some administrative staff.
With the help of this factory, the control over local bodies i.e Gram-panchayat and Jilha-Parishad, Distributive authority, Workers organisation, NGO and most important farmers organisations develops. With the help of one factory or some more factories like that one generally creates an Empire.
This is just the process but as privatization is not involved the management does not hold accountable for anyone. In addition the ego of local body member and politician comes into the act. After some year or so because of poor management and unaccountable nature, real sympathy towards the organisation( as no one is owner ) vanishes, Also there are factors like low productions of sugarcane because of droughts and other problems related to agriculture sector, process of degradation of these starts. The condition of banks which gave loans to this factories becomes worst. Many of the banks are on the notice by R.B.I to shut down. The last game that politician play after becoming powerful is: they own these sugar factory privately at 70 % low price. This is possible for them because private players are not interested in this game-play as process is tedious. With many co-operative banks shut down and sugar factories vanished, Maharashtra will need to find a solution for this old problem.
