Pune: Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil, who was considered an "outsider" when he won in 2019, has been re-elected from Kothrud seat in Pune.
According to the Election Commission of India, Patil has secured 1,59,234 votes against former MLA Chandrakant Balbhim Mokate of Shiv Sena (UBT), who bagged 47,193 votes. Kishor Nana Shinde of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has trailed to the third position with 18,105. There were 21 rounds of counting.
Patil hails from Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra and was the first MLC before the JP Nadda-led party gave him a ticket to contest from Kothrud.
Kothrud has a typical middle and upper middle class population and the constituency was represented by Prof Dr Medha Kulkarni, now a Rajya Sabha member. The BJP has ignored Medha Kulkarni in the 2019 polls to accommodate Chandrakant Patil.
The constituency is also crucial as Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol resides here. Chandrakant Patil has banked on the fact that the Pune Metro has been completed by the Eknath Shinde-led government and the Metro starts from Vanaz in the Kothrud seat and runs up to Ramwadi.
Kishor Shinde and Chandrakant Mokate are popular among voters, who have been migrated from the Peth areas of the city but both failed to mark their presence.
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