MVA delivers a ‘sucker punch’ to BJP as ruling coalition sweeps graduate MLC constituencies

@the_news_21

Pune: Contrary to some pollsters predicting a landslide victory for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) delivered a ‘sucker punch’ by breaching its five decade old bastion in Nagpur in the biennial elections to Graduates and Teachers division constituencies. The Shiv Sena too had to face the wrath of the Teachers in Amravati Teachers constituency as its sitting MLC Shrikant Deshpande was still trailing his nearest Independent rival Kiran Sarnaik.

The counting to five constituencies – three graduates’ and two teachers’ which had commenced on Thursday is still underway in Amravati and Pune Teachers constituencies at the time of going to the press.

In the final results to the graduate seats declared Friday morning, the MVA coalition of the Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress snapped up all the three seats demolishing the BJP bastions in Nagpur and Pune graduate constituencies. 

The Nagpur graduate seat, considered a veritable pocket borough of former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ family and a seemingly impregnable BJP bastion – the seat having been held by Fadnavis’ father, Gangadhar Fadnavis in the past as well as senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari was finally breached by the Congress for the first time in last 55 years.

Also Read: MLC polls: BJP wins Dhule-Nandurbar, MVA leads in teachers and graduate constituencies

Sources attribute this to the growing rift between Fadnavis and Gadkari. The BJP had replaced its sitting MLC Anil Sole with that of Shirish Boralkar.

Another reason being attributed to the loss was the apathy and careless attitude of the traditional BJP voters who either failed to turn-up at the polling booth or have vented their anger at the leadership for having taken them for granted. In the recent past the BJP had tasted the wrath of its traditional voters in Bhandara-Gondiya and Chimur Lok Sabha elections.

Abhijit Wanjarri (Congress) polled an impressive 55,947 votes of a total 1.33 lakh votes trouncing his nearest BJP rival Sandeep Joshi by nearly 15,000 votes. 

In the equally prestigious Pune graduates constituency NCP candidate and sugar baron Arun Lad polled 1.22 lakh votes trouncing his nearest BJP rival Sangram Deshmukh by a huge margin of more than 48,000 votes. 

Interestingly Sangli-based Lad, who is also the president of the Kranti Co-operative Sugar factory had been instrumental for the NCP’s defeat in the previous Pune graduate constituency election when he had raised the banner of rebellion. 

The Pune graduate seat was earlier considered a traditional NCP bastion had turned into a BJP stronghold in the last 20 years had come to be seen as a BJP stronghold with its State President Chandrakant Patil representing it twice in the recent past. 

State NCP president Jayant Patil and BJPs Chandrakant Patil had put all their might behind their party candidates thereby making it a matter of prestige. Commenting on the poll results, NCP chief Sharad Pawar remarked that the poll results clearly hint at Maharashtra’s changing political scenario.

“The results clearly show that Maharashtra’s public has rejected the BJP and has emphatically endorsed the ruling MVA. It is also testament to the unity of the tripartite MVA government,” said Pawar.

Commenting upon the MVA defeat in the Dhule-Nandurbar Local Authority by-elections (results declared on Thursday) the NCP chief remarked that it was not surprising, stating that the BJP could win there only because the sitting MLC Amrish Patel had merely switched sides to quit the Congress and join the saffron party. 

Hitting out at the NCP chief, BJP’s Chandrakant Patil said that the poll results could not be construed as a collective public verdict on the BJP. 

“If any of these MVA parties had the guts, then they should have fought alone, they very conveniently came together to contest against the BJP. It should also be remembered that Arun Lad had once rebelled against his own party (NCP). So, this is not the people’s verdict,” argued Patil. 

In the Aurangabad graduate constituency seat, the Satish Chavan (NCP) won a hat-trick, bagging the seat for the third consecutive time by beating his BJP adversary Satish Boralkar by more than half a lakh votes. Chavan polled 1.16 lakh votes. 

Meanwhile, at the time of going to the press, in the Pune Teacher’s constituency Jayant Aasgavkar (Congress) has secured a comfortable lead of 6,000 votes over his nearest rival sitting MLC Dattaray Sawant (Independent) and is expected to win comfortably. 

In a close contest in the Amravati Teacher’s seat Independent candidate Kiran Sarnaik has taken a slender lead of little over 1,000 votes over sitting Shiv Sena MLC Shrikant Deshpande.