While Shiv Sena puts up tough fight in Palghar, united Cong-NCP show BJP the door in Gondia-Bhandara
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The ruling BJP survived a Shiv Sena onslaught in the Palghar Lok Sabha by-poll, but succumbed to the sustained and united efforts of the Congress and NCP in Gondia-Bhandara.
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While the win is succour for the failing fortunes of the Congress-NCP combine, which has promised to continue its alliance in the general and assembly elections, the Palghar experience has given Sena a new confidence. It finished second in its maiden attempt, ringing a warning bell for the BJP, which has been rallying to get the ruling partner to join hands in a pre-poll alliance in future. Sena maintained that it was the beginning of its solo fight and it would never join the BJP in its electoral endeavours.
The two constituencies sprang some shockers for Sena's longtime friend-turned-enemy. The Sena took the wind out of BJP's sails by taking the fight straight into the BJP's citadel in Palghar despite losing to Rajendra Gavit, a Congress turncoat who was pitted against Sena's Shrinivas Wanga, son of the late BJP MP Chinamani Wanga (whose death necessitated the by-poll). The Sena had got Shrinivas to defect ahead of the nominations.
BJP's defeat in its fiefdom of eastern Vidarbha indicated that the opposition unity could not only withstand the ruler's might but also help it walk away with a resounding victory. Gondia-Bhandara was earlier held by the BJP, which was rocked by sitting member Nana Patole's resignation last year. Patole joined the Congress and teamed up with senior NCP leader Prafulla Patel, who he had defeated in the 2014 election on a BJP ticket.
Palghar turned out to be a match between the two right-wing outfits, leaving others far behind, except for a Hitendra Thakur-led local outfit Bahujan Vikas Aghadi which finished third with 2.22 lakh votes. While NCP increased its tally by one, the Congress finished a poor fifth in Palghar. Even CPM garnered more with 71,000 votes.
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