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Pawar’s NCP tastes defeat in west Maharashtra

Hindustan Times, Pune | By
May 24, 2019 04:41 PM IST

In Maval, NCP suffered a major setback as Parth suffered a drubbing amid the party retaining Baramati and Satara while wresting Raigad and Shirur from the Shiv Sena and reducing the margin where it lost as compared to 2014

Days before elections when Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar changed his mind and instead opted out of the Lok Sabha race from Madha constituency, the reason he cited was making way for his grandnephew Parth. The election outcome on Thursday suggests that Pawar, 79, had seen writing on the wall.

In Madha, NCP nominee Sanjay Shinde was trailing by over 70,000 votes at 6 pm even as the party won five seats in the state, improving its tally by one seat as compared to 2014.

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In Maval, NCP suffered a major setback as Parth suffered a drubbing amid the party retaining Baramati and Satara while wresting Raigad and Shirur from the Shiv Sena and reducing the margin where it lost as compared to 2014.

The NCP-backed candidate Navneet Kaur Rana, too, registered a win in Amravati. At the time of filing this report, counting was still on in multiple seats where the NCP was trailing against the nearest rival.

If poll results are anything to go by, the NCP failed to regain western Maharashtra, the region once known as the party’s stronghold, thus further reducing Pawar’s bargaining power in Delhi where the NCP chief was eyeing to play crucial role.

However, at the same time, the party saved itself from complete decimation with Pawar saying that he was “hopeful” about the outcome. Pawar’s positivity lay in the comparatively worst performance by alliance partner Congress which won only one seat in the state, none from Western Maharashtra.

“It’s a fact that we have lost in many places. But I am hopeful about the party’s future,” said Pawar, a cancer survivor who had addressed 79 rallies, next only to BJP’s start campaigner Devendra Fadnavis.

Having drawn his might from this region for more than four decades, Pawar made utmost efforts for the Lok Sabha polls, especially after the party suffered a huge setback in 2014. However, the NCP couldn’t encash on farm distress in rural parts and issues such as unemployment in urban constituencies.

“The outcome shows that memories of NCP-Congress misrule is still afresh in the minds of electors. Also, BJP-Sena’s strategy of putting up its entire might on the one hand and the Congress-NCP’s loss of momentum during the campaign on the other hand, worked in favour of the saffron combine,” said Prakash Pawar, professor of political science, Shivaji University.

For more than 15 years till 2014, western Maharashtra ruled the state with a firm grip as leaders elected from the region controlled the reins in the government with Pawar in a commanding position. The latest outcome however has re-established that NCP chief is down but not finished.

Western Maharashtra Districts: 06 (Pune, Ahmednagar, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur)

Number of constituencies: 12

Which party won how many seats:

BJP: 05

Shiv Sena: 03

NCP: 03

Congress: 00

Swabhimani Paksha: 00

Winners/Losers in western Maharashtra

1) Pune: Girish Bapat (BJP) won against Mohan Joshi (Congress)

2) Baramati: Supriya Sule (NCP) won against Kanchan Kul (BJP)

3) Maval (Pune dist): Shrirang Barne (Shiv Sena) won against Parth Pawar (NCP)

4) Shirur (Pune dist): Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil (Shiv Sena) lost to Amok Kolhe (NCP)

5) Ahmednagar: Sujay Vikhe Patil (BJP) won against Sangram Jagtap (NCP)

6) Shirdi (Ahmednagar): Sadashiv Lokhande (Shiv Sena) won against Bhausaheb Kamble(Congress)

7) Solapur: Dr Jai Siddheshwar Shivacharya (BJP) won against Sushilkumar Shinde (Congress) and Prakash Ambedkar (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi)

8) Madha (Solapur dist): Sanjay Shinde (NCP) lost to Ranjitsinh Naik NImbalkar (BJP)

9) Sangli: Sanjay Patil (BJP) won against Vishal Patil (Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana

10) Satara: Udayanraje Bhosale (NCP) won against Narendra Patil (Shiv Sena)

11) Kolhapur: Dhananjay Mahadik (NCP) lost to Sanjay Mandlik (Shiv Sena)

12) Hatkanangle (Kolhapur dist): Raju Shetti (SWP) lost to Dhairyasheel Mane (Shiv Sena)

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