The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The BJP faced a significant setback in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with its seat count more than halving compared to 2019. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), secured 31 of the 48 seats.
The BJP-led NDA fell short of its ambitious target of winning 45-plus seats in Maharashtra, managing to secure only 17 seats. The BJP won nine seats, a stark decline from the 23 seats it won in 2019. Its ally, the Shiv Sena, secured seven seats, and another ally, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, bagged one seat. However, Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, lost to Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, in Baramati.
The Congress made significant gains, winning 13 seats, a substantial increase from the solitary seat it won in 2019. Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) each won nine seats. Vishal Patil, a Congressman-turned-independent, won the Sangli seat and indicated his willingness to rejoin the Congress, potentially increasing the MVA’s tally to 32 seats.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 23 seats, while its then-ally Shiv Sena (undivided) secured 18 seats. The undivided NCP won four seats, and the Congress managed only one. The BJP-led NDA had set a high target this time, aiming for 45-plus seats in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray announced that the INDIA bloc would meet on Wednesday to decide on the alliance’s prime ministerial candidate. Thackeray emphasized that the common man had demonstrated his power in the mandate and that the opposition needed to stake a claim to form the government at the Centre.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attributed the NDA’s performance to opposition propaganda, claiming that the BJP would change the Constitution after the polls. However, he acknowledged the people’s mandate and promised deep introspection to recover in the next assembly election.
Among the notable wins, Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Waikar secured the Mumbai North West seat by defeating Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Amol Kirtikar by just 48 votes. In Nagpur, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari defeated Congress nominee Vikas Thakre by 137,603 votes. Union Minister Piyush Goyal of BJP won the Mumbai North seat, defeating Congress’s Bhushan Patil by 356,996 votes.
Congress candidate Varsha Gaikwad won the Mumbai North Central seat, defeating BJP’s lawyer Ujjwal Nikam by 16,514 votes. In Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Union Minister Narayan Rane of BJP defeated Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Vinayak Raut by 47,858 votes. In Mumbai South, Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Arvind Sawant defeated Shiv Sena’s Yamini Jadhav by 52,673 votes. Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Anil Desai won Mumbai South Central, defeating Shiv Sena’s Rahul Shewale by 53,384 votes.
Congress’s Balwant Wankhade defeated BJP’s Navneet Rana in Amravati by 19,731 votes. In Dindori, Union Minister and BJP candidate Bharati Pawar lost to NCP (SP) nominee Bhaskar Bhagare by 113,199 votes. In Kalyan, CM Eknath Shinde’s son, Shrikant Shinde, defeated Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Vaishali Darekar-Rane by 209,144 votes. NCP (SP) nominee Bajrang Sonawane defeated BJP’s Pankaja Munde in Beed in a closely contested race.