Over the past decade, the richest districts of Maharashtra have grown even richer at a much faster rate than the poorest districts. A key factor behind this is the hastened transition in these districts to the services sector. On the other hand, a considerable portion of the economies in the poorer districts remains dependent on agriculture. Moreover, an analysis of voting patterns in the 2024 general elections across these economic divisions shows that a larger proportion of voters in richer districts favoured the NDA, while the INDIA bloc held significant sway in poorer districts. This becomes significant as the State votes in Assembly elections on November 20.
For the purpose of this analysis, districts in Maharashtra were divided into five economic groups — very poor, poor, middling, rich, and very rich — based on their per capita Net District Domestic Product (NDDP) at current prices in 2022-23. Districts in the ‘very rich’ category had a per capita NDDP of over ₹3 lakh; those in the ‘rich’ category had a per capita NDDP of ₹2.4 lakh-₹2.9 lakh; those in the ‘middling’ category had a per capita NDDP of ₹2 lakh-₹2.3 lakh; those in the ‘poor’ category had a per capita NDDP of ₹1.5 lakh-₹1.9 lakh; and those in the ‘very poor’ category had a per capita NDDP below ₹1 lakh.
Chart 1 shows per capita Net District Domestic Product (₹) at current prices for FY12, FY17 and FY23. Each line corresponds to a district.
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The gap between the average per capita NDDP of the ‘very rich’ districts — Mumbai, Pune, and Thane — and the ‘very poor’ districts — Nandurbar, Washim, Gadchiroli, Yavatmal, Hingoli, and Buldhana — was ₹97,357 in 2011-12. It exceeded ₹1.7 lakh in the three years before the pandemic. Though the COVID-19 years narrowed the gap, the disparity widened again in 2022-23 and exceeded ₹2.4 lakh.
Chart 2 shows average per capita Net District Domestic Product (₹) at current prices for FY12, FY17 and FY23 across five types of disticts: very rich, rich, middling, very poor and poor.
While the average per capita NDDP of the ‘very poor’ districts increased by just around ₹75,000 in 2022-23 compared to over a decade ago, it rose by ₹2.2 lakh for those in the ‘very rich’ category. Simply put, the richest districts in Maharashtra got richer at a pace three times faster than the poorest districts in the State in the period.
The composition of the economy of various districts could explain the rapid shift in the districts’ domestic product. Composition is measured across three sectors: primary (includes agriculture, allied services, and mining), secondary (includes manufacturing, utilities, and construction) and tertiary (includes services, trade, hotels, transport, financial, real estate, and others).
There has been a significant shift towards the tertiary/services sector across all the districts in the State — most notably in the ‘very rich’ districts, where services now contribute over 68% of the group’s economic output in 2022-23 (measured by Gross District Value Added or GDVA) compared to 56% in 2011-12. The corresponding figures for the ‘rich’ districts were 61% and 49%. The dependence of ‘very rich’ and ‘rich’ districts on primary and secondary sectors has dwindled over time.
Chart 3 shows sector-wise Gross District Value Added (GDVA) in FY12, FY17 and FY23 across five types of disticts: very rich, rich, middling, very poor and poor. (Figures in %)
The economic output of the services sector has also significantly increased in the poorer districts. It exceeded 50% of their GDVA in 2022-23. But the primary sector continues to contribute about one-fourth of their economic output.
An analysis of vote shares secured by the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the 2024 general elections shows that the richer districts backed the Mahayuti, while the poorer sections stood by the MVA. The MVA secured 44-45% of the votes in the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ districts compared to the 38-41% obtained by the Mahayuti coalition. In the richer districts, the MVA secured fewer votes.
Chart 4 shows vote share secured by the Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi alliances in the 2024 general elections across five types of disticts: very rich, rich, middling, very poor and poor. (Figures in %)
Source: Maharashtra’s Directorate of Economics and Statistics and Lok Dhaba. It also includes The Hindu’s calculations.
samreen.wani@thehindu.co.in and vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in
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Published - November 14, 2024 08:00 am IST
