Six rebels, who won as independents, are likely to return
to the party fold.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has finally regained lost ground in western Maharashtra — the party’s traditional bastion — which Sharad Pawar had carefully nurtured after splitting from the Congress.
The party won 24 seats, up from 23 in the last assembly polls. Six NCP rebels who contested as independents after denied party tickets, have won, and are likely to support the party.
The assembly polls this time had become a do-or-die battle for the NCP in the sugar belt of western Maharashtra, particularly after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year. The NCP had just managed to win three out of the eight seats it contested in western Maharashtra.
Western Maharashtra comprises Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur districts.
In Pune district, including the city, the NCP won from seven seats, one less than the 2004 election. Interestingly, three NCP rebels, including Vilas Lande in Bhosari and Laxman Jagtap in Chinchwad have won the polls.
A senior NCP functionary has already indicated that there is strong possibility of the rebels supporting the party.
In Solapur district, the NCP won four of the 11 seats. However, the party suffered its worst defeat in Pandharpur where former deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil lost to NCP rebel Bharat Bhalke of the Republican left Democratic Front (RLDF).
DNA had earlier reported that Mohite-Patil was facing the heat from not only the NCP’s rebel candidate Bharat Bhalke, but also from the residents of 35 villages in south Mangalwedha taluka of the district. Interestingly, Mohite-Patil couldn’t retain the seat despite NCP supremo Sharad Pawar addressing election rallies in the constituency.
The villagers, who accounted for nearly 28,000 votes, had threatening to boycott the polls to protest the non-fulfilment of promises made by politicians in the last 20 years to ensure adequate water supply.
In Ahmednagar district, the NCP increased its tally by winning four seats out of the six it contested. It won two seats in the 2004 assembly polls, besides securing support from Babanrao Pachpute, who fought the polls as an independent and later joined the party.
Of the 12 seats in the district, the Congress and the Shiv Sena wrested three seats each, while the BJP nominees won in two seats.
In Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, the NCP won the highest number of nine out of the total 26 assembly seats. The Shiv Sena-BJP together won seven seats. As for the Congress, it could only manage five seats as against 12 in the 2004 assembly polls.
Interestingly, three of the four independents who won are NCP rebels and are likely to return to the party fold.
In Satara, the NCP won four out of the six seats it contested while the Congress could manage one out of the two seats it fought.
Of the three independents who won in Satara district, two are NCP rebels.
In Sangli district, the BJP won three seats and the NCP two seats as against three seats it contested. The Congress could manage to win just two of the five seats it contested. The biggest setback for the Congress in Sangli is a humiliating defeat of children and women’s development minister Madan Patil in Sangli constituency from the BJP nominee Sambhaji Pawar.
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