Palghar bypoll: Vikramgadh, Dahanu gave BJP the edge

There are six Assembly segments in the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency – Boisar, Palghar, Vikramgadh, Vasai, Nallasopara and Dahanu.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won the crucial Palghar Lok Sabha by-election on Thursday, predominantly secured votes from Dahanu and Vikramgadh talukas of the constituency.

BJP supporters celebrate after winning the bypoll in Palghar. (Mangesh Lade)

The Shiv Sena, which stood second in the bypoll, got votes from Palghar, Boisar and Vikramgadh, while the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) received votes from its citadels – Nallasopara and Vasai, as per the final figures declared by the Election Commission (EC) of India.

There are six Assembly segments in the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency – Boisar, Palghar, Vikramgadh, Vasai, Nallasopara and Dahanu.

The BVA has MLAs in Boisar, Vasai and Nallasopara, the BJP has MLAs in Dahanu and Vikramgadh, while the Sena has an MLA in Palghar.

The BVA which holds sway in Vasai-Virar belt saw a low voter turnout in Nallasopara and Vasai with 34% and 48% respectively. The Sena, which had fielded late BJP MP Chintaman Wanga’s son Srinivas, was banking on sympathy votes from the areas where the BJP MP had worked.

From the first round of counting, the BJP had maintained a steady lead ahead of its rivals. There was a tough fight between the Sena and the BJP and it was thought that the former could take the lead. However, the BJP took a consolidated lead after counting of votes in Dahanu, in a relief for BJP’s Rajendra Gavit, who polled around 48,531 votes in the area, while Wanga received 38,186 votes from there.

The Congress, meanwhile, received a severe drubbing as the voters rejected Damodar Shingda, the six-time MP from the area and ended in the fifth place. CPI(M) candidate Kiran Gahala finished in the fourth place and polled a 71,194 votes.