Satara Lok Sabha byelection: Major setback for BJP as Udayanraje loses

KOLHAPUR: In a huge relief to the NCP and big setback for BJP, Shriniwas Patil of the Sharad Pawar-led party established a comfortable lead over Udayanraje Bhosale in the Satara Lok Sabha byelection.
The imminent victory of Patil, who was leading by more than 85,000 votes at the time of going to Press on Monday night, is being attributed to many factors, mainly the sympathy wave for Pawar following his speech during a poll rally in heavy rain in Satara.
The defeat of Udayanraje, who had won in the last Lok Sabha election from Satara on an NCP ticket but resigned before the assembly elections to join the BJP, is being looked as an embarrassment for the saffron party in political circles.
Udayanraje, the 13th descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji, lost the election despite high-profile campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister and BJP president Amit Shah.
The BJP candidate did not even turn up at the counting centre as he was trailing right from the beginning, when counting for the postal ballots began on Monday morning.
Police intensified security at various places in Satara, including the residence of Udayanraje, before the election result was to be announced officially.
Police also put up check-posts at all entry and exit points of Satara city and did not allow processions in the district as a precautionary measure.
The Pawar factor played a decisive role in the defeat of Udayanraje, who has a large following in Satara district.
“Pawar’s Satara address in the rain, which had gone viral on social media, helped the party to not only improve its performance in Satara but also across Maharashtra,” said a group of NCP workers.
Udayanraje’s cousin, Shivendraraje Bhosale, however, won the assembly election on a BJP ticket from Satara segment. He too joined the saffron party before the election. He had been elected on an NCP ticket in 2014.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena candidates Shambhuraje Desai and Mahesh Shinde also won the assembly. from Patan and Koregaon, respectively. These are parts of the Satara Lok Sabha constituency.
Udayanraje’s decision to resign from NCP was made a major election issue by the party during the poll campaign. The NCP adopted a two-fold strategy — target Udayanraje for his resignation and generate sympathy for Pawar. It worked and Satara voters expressed faith in the leadership of Pawar.