05 June,2024 05:40 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sharad Pawar & Ajit Pawar
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar has maintained strong grassroots support, with his division of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) winning 8 of the 10 contested Lok Sabha seats in the state, resulting in an 80 per cent success rate for Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024.
In sharp contrast, the NCP faction led by his estranged nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won only one of the four seats it sought, for a 25 per cent success rate in Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024.
The Congress also made a strong comeback, winning 13 of the 17 seats it contested, a significant increase from its lone seat in the 2019 elections, resulting in a 75 per cent success rate.
The majority of the seats gained by the NCP (SP) were in western Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar's traditional heartland. Ajit Pawar's faction won only the Raigad Lok Sabha seat, where the party's state president Sunil Tatkare defeated his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Anant Geete.
The NCP (SP) won eight seats, including Baramati, which featured a high-profile race between Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar.
The BJP won only nine of the 28 seats it contested, for a 31 per cent success percentage. The BJP's ally, the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, contested 15 seats and won 7, with a 45 per cent success rate. The rival Shiv Sena faction, led by Uddhav Thackeray, achieved a 41 per cent success rate, winning nine of the
Vishal Patil, an independent candidate, won the Sangli constituency, adding to the Congress tally.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Congress, won 30 of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats. In contrast, the Mahayuti combination of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP won 17 seats.
Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Supriya Sule prevails in prestige battle of Baramati; jolt to cousin Ajit Pawar
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) candidate Supriya Sule retained her Baramati Lok Sabha seat by more than 1.5 lakh votes. Sule was contesting against her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, in an electoral battle which had become the most high-profile contest in Maharashtra.
Sule's cousin Ajit, who revolted against her father Sharad Pawar last year and split the party, is known to have a large following in the family bastion of Baramati, and many political observers predicted that Sule would struggle to win a fourth straight term.
"I am thankful to the people of Baramati. After the victory, our collective responsibilities have increased. Let bygones be bygones. Whatever happened during the elections did not befit Maharashtra's politics and it should be avoided in the upcoming state elections, and for that we will take utmost precaution," she said.
"It was everyone's responsibility to uphold the 'aan, baan, shaan' (honour, pride and prestige) and culture of Maharashtra during elections," Sule said, adding that "we upheld that tradition in these elections and will continue to uphold it in the upcoming elections."
With PTI inputs
