Congress rebel wins Sangli, MVA regains control over western Maha

Vishal Patil, grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister, Vasant Dada Patil, won the seat in a closely contested battle.

PUNE: Congress rebel and independent candidate, Vishal Patil, has secured a historic win in a triangular fight from the Sangli parliamentary seat.

Ever since the Lok Sabha polls were announced, Sangli was in the news due to seat-sharing differences between the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), both constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). (HT PHOTO)

Vishal Patil, grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister, Vasant Dada Patil, won the seat in a closely contested battle against the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Sanjay Kaka Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Chandrahar Patil.

Following his win, Vishal Patil said, “The public took this election into their own hands. I am the original Congressman and my fight was not against the Congress but to save the party in Sangli district.”

Ever since the Lok Sabha polls were announced, Sangli was in the news due to seat-sharing differences between the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), both constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Many Congress workers quietly helped Vishal Patil in his victory, said a party leader requesting anonymity. Interestingly, Vishal Patil had lost the 2019 LS elections as an independent although this time round, he garnered sympathy due to the manner in which the Shiv Sena (UBT) fielded Chandrahar Patil.

The performance of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), except for Sangli, has been better as the alliance regained lost ground in western Maharashtra, which has historically been a stronghold of leaders like Sharad Pawar. Since 2014, Pawar has seen his influence wane in the region.

As per the trends till the time of going to press, the MVA was either leading or had won five seats including Baramati, Shirur, Solapur, Madha, and Kolhapur whereas the Mahayuti was either leading or had won seats including Pune, Maval, Satara and Hatkanangle even as Sangli went to the independent candidate.

The Solapur and Madha seats in western Maharashtra have been secured by Congress MLA Praniti Shinde and NCP (SP) candidate Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil, respectively.

In Kolhapur, Congress candidate and member of the royal family, Chhatrapati Shahu, won against Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Mandlik while in Hatkanangle, Satyajit Patil Saturdekar of the Shiv Sena (UBT) was leading against Shiv Sena’s Dhairyasheel Mane and Swabhimani Paksha’s Raju Shetti.

This is the first time after the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena that both parties as MVA partners have fought the elections for survival. Yet, there were differences between them during seat sharing but on the battle ground, they appeared to be fighting unitedly due to which MVA is leading in western Maharashtra.

Former chief minister of Maharashtra and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said, “As MVA, we had good coordination among us during the entire election. There were issues between us regarding a few seats, otherwise our tally would have improved.”

The resurgence of MVA in western Maharashtra can be attributed to a confluence of factors. Firstly, people did not like the ‘jod-tod rajniti’ (of the Mahayuti). Also, after the split in the NCP and Shiv Sena, both parties made concerted efforts to mobilise grassroots’ support from hardcore workers instead of leaders. Additionally, issues pertaining to agrarian distress, rural development, and unemployment resonated strongly with the electorate, thereby bolstering the MVA’s appeal among the masses.

Furthermore, the astute leadership and political acumen of Sharad Pawar, a stalwart of Maharashtra politics, proved instrumental in rallying support for the MVA and consolidating the anti-incumbency sentiment against the Mahayuti alliance.