A by-poll that was necessitated in Maharashtra’s Solapur district following the death of Bharat Bhalke the late NCP MLA due to post-Covid-19 complications in November last year was swept by the BJP.
The Pandharpur seat which was considered an NCP bastion owing to Bhalke’s strong presence in the temple city has been won by the BJP candidate Samadhan Autade.
Autade defeated his nearest NCP rival, Bharat Bhalke’s son Bhagirath Bhalke by a margin of over 3,700 votes to win the by-election to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly seat in Solapur district.
With this victory, BJP’s tally in the state assembly has increased to 106, pulling down NCP to 53. The result was a jolt to the MVA as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar himself along with state NCP chief Jayant Patil had extensively traveled the constituency, addressing rallies. However, the duo did not manage to bag victory for their party.
Calling it as an indicative verdict by the people against the MVA, the state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said, “This (contest) was the litmus test for Uddhav Thackeray’s MVA. People are angry with the coalition government. The government disconnected the electricity connections, did not help farmers, nor deposit the compensation due to various calamities into the bank accounts of the affected families. On top of it, there is no implementation of the financial package account for the poor and economically weaker sections affected due to lockdown.”
“People have lost faith in the MVA government and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray cannot run the government. It was proved with today’s outcome,” he added.
Thrilled by the win, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was seen charged after the victory at a meeting held at Pandharpur, the video of which has now gone viral on social media.
विरोधी पक्षनेते देवेंद्र फडणवीसांच्या या व्हिडीओची जोरदार चर्चा.. “१ आमदार द्या या सरकारचा करेक्ट कार्यक्रम करून दाखवतो” @Dev_Fadnavis @BJP4Maharashtra #PandharpurElectionResults2021 pic.twitter.com/3YAYuVoA82
— Lokmat (@MiLOKMAT) May 2, 2021
The Leader of opposition in his animated speech said that voters in by-polls held after the 2019 assembly elections are willing to give a chance to the BJP so the party can show the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi their place. He alleged that the MVA is plagued with inquiry, malpractices and corruption and that it is time to bring about a change.
Fadnavis congratulated the winning candidate and thanked the party workers for the win through a Tweet.
जय हरि विठ्ठल!
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 2, 2021
पंढरपूर-मंगळवेढा विधानसभेतील भाजपा आणि महायुतीचे उमेदवार समाधान आवताडे यांचे मन:पूर्वक अभिनंदन!
महायुतीचे सर्व कार्यकर्ते,पदाधिकारी या विजयाचे शिल्पकार आहेत.
या मतदारसंघातील सर्व नागरिकांचे सुद्धा खूप खूप धन्यवाद!#BJPwinsPandharpur @autadesamadhan1 #JaiHariVitthal pic.twitter.com/W32Y0Pdw7u
It is being said that the BJP candidate also had immense support of the powerful Mohite-Patil clan which assured his victory.
