Mumbai: It was a battle between the uncle and the nephew. It was also a battle for supremacy in Maharashtra. And Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar stunned his uncle and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
As per the data given by the Election Commission of India, the NCP led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won a staggering 41 seats in the 288-member House, while the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) was able to win only 10 seats.
To site an example, there in Baramati Assembly seat, there was a direct fight between Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Shriniwas Pawar, who was the NCP (SP) candidate. Again as per the Election Commission of India data, Ajit Pawar, the Maratha strongman, won by 100899 votes.
Western Maharashtra, which is a sugar belt, was known as a stronghold of the undivided Nationalist Congress Party and its founder Sharad Pawar. However, once again in this elections, it was Ajit Pawar emerged triumphant and the NCP got enormous success in the region.
In Ambegoan Assembly seats in the Pune district, the NCP nominee Dilip Walse-Patil, a former Maharashtra Speaker, won with a comfortable margin. Walse-Patil defeated NCP (SP) nominee Devdatta Nikam.
In Indapur Assembly seat too, it was a battle of supremacy between the NCP and the NCP (SP) and as per the data of the Election Commission of India, NCP nominee Dattatray Bharane won by a margin of 19410 votes. NCP (SP) nominee and former Maharashtra Minister Harshavardhan Patil stood second place.
The scenario was no different in Kagal Assembly seat in Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra. Senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif won by a margin of 11,581 votes by defeating his nearest rival Samarjeet Ghatge, who was fielded by the NCP (SP).
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in a cheeky way said that the voters have decided to whom the NCP belongs in the presence of Ajit Pawar. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also said that the voters have given a clear mandate to whom the NCP belongs in this elections.
Ajit Pawar said that following the loss in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a lot of steps were taken and that helped the party in the Assembly polls.
As a result, the NCP faired well not only in the rural areas but also in the urban areas. Ajit Pawar, who had support of senior leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare, thus proved that he was the 'Big Boss'.
