Maharashtra MLC polls: Shinde Sena suffers setback as BJP rebel Gokul Gite wins Nashik seat

Mumbai, Jun 22 (PTI) BJP rebel Gokul Gite sprang a surprise on Monday as he swept Maharashtra legislative council's Nashik district local governing body constituency, defeating ruling Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Darade.

Counting was being held on Monday for the June 18 elections to 11 seats in the state legislature’s Upper House.

Gite secured 357 votes against Darade's 248, winning by 109 votes, as per election officials. His victory came as a surprise, as the ruling party candidate was expected to put up a strong challenge.

Darade belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which has been in the spotlight following a rebellion by six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members, with two of them confirming their switch to the ruling Sena.

He had campaigned in the constituency along with several elected representatives for the election.

Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande expressed reservations over the outcome, saying, "There is a serious doubt about the result as we were assured that our candidate would be supported." A visibly upset Darade left the counting centre after it became clear that a majority of local representatives had voted in favour of Gite.

There was some tension at the counting centre, as Gite reached the venue and took strong objection to the presence of Darade's brother and Nashik Teachers' Constituency sitting MLC Kishore Darade. It led to some tension between the candidates and their supporters.

The Nashik constituency had witnessed controversy since Gite announced his candidature against Darade. He had alleged that Darade used foul language against him.

Gite entered the fray as an independent against Darade, the ruling alliance's official candidate. Senior Mahayuti leaders, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Shinde, BJP minister Girish Mahajan and Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant, had intervened to resolve the issue.

Following intense discussions, Gite halted his campaign, but his name remained on the ballot as the withdrawal deadline had passed.

Though Gite had said he would not continue his campaign after meetings with senior leaders, he clarified on Monday that he only suspended his personal campaign while his supporters continued canvassing.

The biennial elections were originally notified for 17 seats, including one bypoll, but voting was necessitated in only 11 constituencies as candidates of the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar's NCP, secured unopposed victories in six seats.

In Nanded, BJP candidate Amarnath Rajurkar has retained his local authorities constituency seat, defeating Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Krushna Patil Ashtikar by a margin of 255 votes.

Rajurkar, who switched to the BJP from the Congress along with former chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, secured his third consecutive victory from the constituency.

He polled 339 votes, while Krushna Patil Ashtikar managed 84 votes. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi candidate Prashant Ingole received five votes.

Krushna Patil Ashtikar is the son of rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, who is expected to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Earlier in the day, the Sena (UBT) announced that he has been removed from the fold for “anti-party activities".

BJP's Arun Lakhani from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli and Prajakt Tanpure from Ahilyanagar, NCP nominees Vikram Kakade from Pune and Aniket Tatkare from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, and Shiv Sena candidates Ravindra Phatak from Thane and Dushyant Chaturvedi from Yavatmal were elected unopposed.

Tanpure joined the BJP shortly before filing his nomination. The Ahilyanagar leader, a nephew of NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, had earlier served as a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The Opposition MVA alleged that the ruling alliance used money and muscle power to force withdrawal of rival candidates. PTI