Maha Assembly bypoll: Cong retains Kolhapur North seat by over 18,000 votes

Congress-MVA candidate Jayashri Jadhav bagged 97,332 votes while the BJP's Satyajeet Kadam polled 78,025 votes. Jadhav thus won by a margin of 19,307 votes.

Kolhapur: In a boost to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine in Maharashtra, the Congress on Saturday won the bypoll to the Kolhapur North Assembly constituency, retaining the seat by defeating the BJP by a margin of over 18,000 votes. Congress-MVA candidate Jayashri Jadhav bagged 96,176 votes, while BJP's Satyajeet Kadam polled 77,426 votes. Jadhav emerged victorious by a margin of 18,750 votes, election officials said.

The by-election to this Assembly segment in Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra was necessitated following the death of sitting Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav due to COVID-19 in December 2021. Congress had fielded the late legislator's widow from this seat. The bypoll was held on April 12 in which 61.19 percent voter turnout was recorded. Following the result, the workers of the Congress, which shares power in the state with the Shiv Sena and the NCP, celebrated the victory by dancing to the tune of music and throwing 'gulal'.

The byelection to this Assembly segment in western Maharashtra's Kolhapur district was necessitated by the death of sitting Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav due to COVID-19 in December 2021. Congress fielded his wife Jayashri in the byelection that was held on April 12. The BJP fielded Kadam, a former Congress leader. As much as 61.19 percent of voter turnout was recorded in the election. Congress workers celebrated the victory in Kolhapur by dancing and throwing 'gulal' in the air.

Jadhav thanked voters and said all three constituents of the MVA worked together to clinch the victory. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said it was a "victory of progressive thoughts." State BJP president Chandrakant Patil said his party accepted the mandate. "The BJP on its own got more than 77,000 votes and made it tough (for the MVA). It was a closely contested fight. Winning and losing is part of elections and even former prime minister Indira Gandhi had to face defeat once. In a democracy, the decision of voters has to be accepted and we have accepted that decision," said Patil, who hails from Kolhapur. The quantum of votes polled by his party was not small, he added.

"I am thankful to party workers who were not cowed down by repression. We will deliberate on the reasons for the defeat," Patil added. Asked about his vow that if he contested a by-election in Kolhapur and lost he would go to the Himalayas, Patil said, "You (the MVA) had a tough time when Satyajeet Kadam contested, what would have happened if I had contested the election." While the state BJP chief put on a brave face, a huge banner with the words `Himalaya ki god me' and a picture of Patil in saffron robes emerged during Congress workers' celebration in Kolhapur.

Congress leader and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said, "The voters of Kolhapur North have rejected attempts to create religious polarisation. Kolhapur has always followed the ideology of equality." In Mumbai, Congress workers burst firecrackers at the Tilak Bhavan, the party's state headquarters in Dadar. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the result showed that "dirty politics" over the issue of loudspeakers at mosques and the recital of Hanuman Chalisa did not work.

"When the campaign was at its peak in Kolhapur, the issue of loudspeakers at mosques and Hanuman Chalisa was brought up. But the people of Kolhapur have given them the answer and the loudspeakers have been removed. The politics of loudspeakers has ended today," Raut said while targeting the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (whose chief Raj Thackeray recently demanded a ban on loudspeakers at mosques) and the BJP.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, state Congress chief Patole said, "Efforts were made to hide the Centre's failure on inflation, unemployment, poverty and the problems faced by small farmers and traders, by creating religious hatred. The victory has sent out a message from the birthplace of Shahu Maharaj (the late ruler of the Kolhapur princely state who was known for his progressive policies)."

The BJP has begun to lose byelections, may it be Bihar, Chhattisgarh, or West Bengal, he added. There were 15 candidates in the fray for the Kolhapur North seat though the main fight was between Congress and the BJP. Senior leaders of the MVA as well as that of the BJP campaigned during the election.

Meanwhile, the 'NOTA' option fell heavily on 13 out of 15 candidates in the fray. As many as 1,788 votes were cast for NOTA, which is just 65 votes less than the total number of votes 13 out of 15 candidates could secure collectively in the fray. With the competition visibly dominant between the BJP and Congress, other than Congress-MVA's Jayashri Jadhav and BJP's Satyajeet Kadam, the remaining 13 candidates could secure a total of 1,853 votes.

With agency inputs