05 June,2024 07:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
MVA leaders during a press conference in Mumbai. File pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
The results of the Lok Sabha seats in western Maharashtra have given an edge to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra. However, the loss of NCP (SP) candidate Shashikant Shinde in Satara is a cause of concern for party supremo Sharad Pawar, who enjoys significant influence over the politics in Satara. The victories of Supriya Sule in Baramati, Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil in Madha, Shahu Chhatrapati in Kolhapur, and Vishal Patil in Sangli are seen as a boost for MVA, especially considering the upcoming Maharashtra state assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
In the high-stakes contest between NCP (SP) candidate Supriya Sule and NCP candidate Sunetra Pawar for the Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency, it appears that Sharad Pawar has scored a point over his nephew Ajit Pawar. The Baramati fight had become a matter of prestige for both Sharad and Ajit Pawar.
Sule's victory over Sunetra clearly indicates that Pawar senior still holds control over the constituency. However, Sule's margin of victory has decreased compared to her earlier wins, which could impact the assembly elections.
2019: Sule had secured 6,86,714 votes and she had won by a lead of 1,55,774.
2014: Sule had secured 521,562 votes and she had won by a lead of 69,719.
The Satara Lok Sabha constituency saw an intense fight between BJP-Mahayuti candidate Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale and NCP (SP) and MVA candidate Shashikant Shinde, a close confidant of Sharad Pawar. Udayanraje Bhosale's win in Satara is seen as a setback for Sharad Pawar.
This result could also affect the assembly elections. NCP had been winning the Satara Lok Sabha constituency since 1999, securing victories in 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, and the 2019 by-elections, but in 2024, BJP won this seat.
Sangli witnessed a three-way battle between BJP, Congress, and an independent candidate. Independent candidate Vishal Patil led from the start and defeated two-time sitting BJP MP Sanjay Kaka Patil. Patil decided to contest the election independently after the Sangli seat was allocated to UBT in the MVA seat-sharing arrangement.
Many Congress leaders, including Vishwajeet Kadam, had openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Chandrahar Patil. It is said that Congress party workers in Sangli worked behind the scenes for Vishal Patil, contributing to his victory.
The Kolhapur elections had become a talking point across Maharashtra as Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj - the descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was fighting the election against Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction/ Mahayuti candidate and sitting MP Sanjay Mandlik.
Winning this seat was important for both Mahayuti and MVA and so this constituency witnessed visits from the top leaders from both sides. PM Narendra Modi had also already addressed a big rally in Kolhapur followed by another mega rally by MVA.
Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj defeated Mandlik by a huge margin. While Shahu has won the election, the fact that needs to be noted is that Congress MLA and former minister Satej Patil who is a heavyweight politician from Kolhapur played a very important role in Shahu Maharaj's win as Patil was extensively working to win this seat.
The Madha constituency saw the battle between sitting BJP MP and Mahayuti candidate Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar and heavyweight Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil who had recently joined back Sharad Pawar faction after resigning as Solapur district chief of BJP. In this battle Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil defeated Nimbalkar.
mid-day had reported that Patil had an advantage over Nimbalkar. Just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Patil had joined BJP. The Patil family is one of the most powerful families in Solapur. Dhairyasheel's uncle Vijaysinh Mohite Patil is the former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
His uncle Vijaysinh Mohite Patll also joined back Sharad Pawar NCP faction. Dhairyasheel's cousin Ranjeetsinh who is BJP MLC has decided to stay with BJP.
Sharad Pawar and Nilesh Lanke became a giant killer in Ahmednagar. He defeated former MP Sujay Vikhe-Patil, the son of heavyweight minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil. Lanke has a history of quilting parties. He quit Shiv Sena before the 2019 assembly election and joined NCP. After the split, he joined Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and before polls, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar offered him a ticket for the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency.
Lanke resigned as MLA and contested Lok Sabha against four-generation stalwarts of Ahmednagar. Sharad Pawar and Vikhe Patil have a rivalry of two generations.
Solapur
In a close contest against BJP candidate Parineeti, Shinde retained her father Sushilkumar Shinde's constituency. Former chief minister and former union minister Sushilkumar Shinde won the Lok Sabha election from this constituency in 1998,1998 and 2009, while he lost the Lok Sabha election twice in 2014 and 2019 against BJP candidates. In 2019, Jaisideshwar Swami of BJP won the election, while BJP changed candidate, Ram Satpute MLA of Malshiras of Solapur district. Opposition campaign against Satpute as an outsider who originally belonged to the Beed district.
What can be termed as a major setback of the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, Union Minister Narayan Rane defeated UBT candidate and two-time sitting MP Vinayak Raut. The Konkan region has been a stronghold for UBT and the defeat in Konkan means that the equations in assembly elections might change for UBT candidates in Konkan.
NCP Ajit Pawar faction and Mahayuti candidate Sunil Tatkare have won in Raigad.
The win of sitting MP Sunil Tatkare against UBT candidate Anant Geete is being looked at as a booster for the NCP Ajit Pawar faction as this is the only seat the party has won.
6,86,714
No. of votes Sule secured in 2019
