In a setback to the Uddhav Thackeray-led tripartite ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ government, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday snared the Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly constituency in Solapur district.
The BJP’s Samadhan Awatade trounced the MVA’s Bhagirath Bhalke, whose candidature was put forth by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Mr. Awatade won by a margin of 3,733 votes having secured a total 1,09,450 votes.
The bypoll had been necessitated after Mr. Bhalke’s father, Bharat Bhalke — a three-time NCP MLA from Solapur — had passed away in November last year.
Bharat Bhalke, along with his political rival Sudhakar Paricharak, had been a dominant player in Solapur’s politics, particularly around the temple town area of Pandharpur-Mangalvedha. Mr. Paricharak, too, had passed away in August last year following COVID-19 related complications.
A former wrestler, the senior Mr. Bhalke had trounced Paricharak as an Independent in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections, and again in the 2014 polls contesting on a Congress ticket. He had won the election last year as well. The Pandharpur seat was considered an NCP bastion owing to Mr. Bhalke’s strong presence.
As a result, the Paricharak family was determined to settle political scores with Bhagirath Bhalke this time around by putting their weight firmly behind Mr. Awatade.
The BJP candidate also had the support of the powerful Mohite-Patil clan.
“This [contest] was the litmus test for Uddhav Thackeray’s MVA. The BJP’s win proves just how angry the people are with the ruling government. Their poor response in ameliorating the common people’s plight during the COVID-19 crisis by not waiving off power bills and giving cash packages on time has cost them this seat,” said BJP State president Chandrakant Patil.
Notwithstanding Mr. Patil’s reasons for the BJP’s win, the campaigning was marked by sheer irresponsibility by both the ruling and opposition parties; large crowds, in violation of pandemic norms, were present at rallies held by both the Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP.
Meanwhile, Solapur Collector Milind Shambharkar said all COVID-19 prevention protocols and guidelines had been followed during the counting process and that victory celebrations had been banned outside the counting centre.