Tapkir won 59,634 votes and defeated his nearest rival, the official NCP-Congress candidate, Harshada Wanjale, by a margin of 3,625 votes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena-Republican Party of India (RPI) alliance registered its first electoral success in the state with the victory of Bhimrao Tapkir in the Khadakwasla assembly by-election, the results of which were declared on Monday.
Tapkir won 59,634 votes and defeated his nearest rival, the official Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress candidate, Harshada Wanjale, by a margin of 3,625 votes.
The death of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLA, Ramesh Wanjale, in June had brought about the by-poll, which was marked by high profile campaigning by both alliances.
Deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, had personally spearheaded the campaign along with Baramati MP, Supriya Sule. While the ruling alliance had fought the poll on the development flank, the saffron alliance had harped on the lack of basic infrastructure and the alleged “high-handedness” of Pawar. The high profile campaign, however, failed to stoke voters’ enthusiasm, with only 32.76% voting recorded on polling day.
During the first five rounds of counting, Harshada established a clear lead of more than 5,000 votes. However, Tapkir caught up in the sixth round and soon led by a margin of over 9,000 votes at the end of the 17th round. At the end of the last round, Tapkir polled 59,634 votes, compared to Harshada’s 56,009.
Tapkir gave Harshada a tough fight on her home turf too. In particular, he did exceptionally well in Dhankavdi, Bibvewadi, Warje and other city areas. His performance was good in
Wadagaon Budruk and rural areas of Khadakwasla, which have
traditionally been NCP vote banks.
Commenting on her defeat, Harshada said she would not be bogged down by it and continue to work for the public within the NCP.
Tapkir thanked the people for their support and promised to work for improvement of the basic facilities in that area.
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