Maharashtra results: In NCP vs NCP poll battle, Ajit Pawar trumps Sharad Pawar

Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday defeated Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) in 29 seats in the Maharashtra assembly election, months after the former’s rebellion prompted a vertical split in the party.

Sharad Pawar’s party defeated his nephew’s outfit in just six seats. In total, the deputy chief minister’s party, a constituent of the BJP-led Mahayuti, won 41 of the 59 seats in Maharashtra. In one of its worst poll performances ever, NCP (SP) could win only 10 seats.

After a dismal Lok Sabha show, it is a revival of sorts for the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP.

NCP vs NCP in Maharashtra

Ajit Pawar defeated his nephew Yugendra Pawar, who was endorsed by 83-year-old Sharad Pawar, by a margin of over 1 lakh votes.

Aheri saw another intra-family battle, with Dharmarao Atram of the NCP defeating his daughter Bhagyashree of the NCP (SP). Indranil Naik beat Sharad Maind of NCP (SP) in Pusad, while Chandrakant Navghare came in top in the face-off against Jaiprakash Dandegaonkar of NCP (SP) in Basmath. Prominent OBC leader and Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal defeated Manikrao Shinde of NCP (SP) in Yeola. In Sinnar, Manikrao Kokate won against Uday Sangale of NCP (SP), reported PTI.

Maharashtra assembly deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal of NCP retained his Dindori seat, registering a triumph over Sunita Charoskar. Daulat Daroda beat Pandurang Barora in Shahapur, while former minister Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana Malik won against NCP(SP) nominee Fahad Ahmad, who is also the husband of actor Swara Bhasker, in Mumbai’s Anushaktinagar in a high-decibel contest.

Anil Navgane of NCP (SP) was bested by Minister Aditi Tatkare in the coastal Shrivardhan. In Ambegaon, her cabinet colleague Dilip Walse Patil defeated Devdutt Nikam. Shirur constituency saw Dnyaneshwar Katke winning the fight against Ashok Pawar of NCP (SP). Anna Bandsode trounced Sulakshana Dhar of NCP (SP) in Pimpri, while Kiran Lahamate defeated Amit Bhangare of NCP (SP) in Akole. In Kopargaon, Ashutosh Kale beat Sandeep Varpe of NCP (SP).

NCP(SP) got more votes

The vote share of Sharad Pawar’s NCP was more than the Ajit Pawar-led party. While NCP(SP) polled 11.28 per cent votes, NCP’s vote share was 9.01 per cent.

Last year, Ajit Pawar spearheaded a rebellion in the NCP. He formed a separate faction with 41 MLAs. Sharad Pawar later formed NCP (SP).

Ajit Pawar later joined hands with the BJP-led Mahayuti and became the deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government.

Maharashtra assembly election results

On Saturday, the ruling alliance won 235 seats. The Congress-led alliance could win only 49 seats.

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 57 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 41. In the opposition camp, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, the Congress won 16 and the NCP (SP) won 10. The Samajwadi Party won 2 seats. Other parties and independents won 10.

The BJP’s vote share was 26.77 per cent. The Congress’s vote share was 12.42 per cent, followed by Shiv Sena’s 12.38 per cent.