Mahayuti registers big win in Maharashtra council polls despite Nashik setback

The ruling Mahayuti alliance registered a sweeping victory in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections from local self-government body constituencies, winning the majority of seats and reinforcing its political dominance ahead of upcoming local body polls. However, the alliance suffered a setback in Nashik, where a rebel Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate defeated the official Mahayuti nominee.

The Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra comprises mainly the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction).

Reacting to the results, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar said the alliance had performed strongly across the state and added that the party would receive a report within the next two days on what went wrong in Nashik.

Of the 17 seats up for election, six Mahayuti candidates had already been elected unopposed. In the remaining 11 constituencies, the alliance secured victories in most seats, with the BJP emerging as the dominant force within the coalition.

NASHIK SPRUNG A SURPRISE

The biggest surprise came from Nashik, where rebel BJP leader Gokul Gite, contesting as an independent, defeated Mahayuti candidate Narendra Darade. Gite secured 357 votes against Darade's 248, triggering discussions about internal dissent within the BJP's Nashik unit.

In Nagpur, BJP candidate Dr Rajiv Potdar defeated Congress's Atul Londhe by a margin of 552 votes, securing 682 votes compared to Londhe's 130. The result sparked speculation about vote-splitting within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

The BJP also recorded a massive victory in the Dharashiv-Beed-Latur constituency, where Basavaraj Patil defeated Congress candidate Mahesh Deshmukh by 721 votes, the highest winning margin in the state. Patil secured 845 votes against Deshmukh's 124.

Other notable victories included Dhairyashil Kadam's win in Sangli-Satara, Nandkishor Mahajan's landslide victory in Jalgaon, Suhas Shirsath's success in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, Rajendra Raut's win in Solapur and Avinash Brahmankar's triumph in Bhandara-Gondia. In Parbhani-Hingoli, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) candidate Sayeed Khan emerged victorious, while former BJP minister Pravin Pote secured a comfortable win in Amravati.

Meanwhile, Vikram Kakade (Pune), Prajakt Tanpure (Ahilyanagar), Ravindra Phatak (Thane), Aniket Tatkare (Konkan), Dushyant Chaturvedi (Yavatmal) and Arun Lakhani (Wardha-Gadchiroli-Chandrapur) were elected unopposed.

Political observers view the results as a significant boost for the Mahayuti alliance, while indications of vote division within the Maha Vikas Aghadi could pose challenges for the opposition ahead of future electoral contests.

- Ends