NCP Faces Setback in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar MLC Seat
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has faced a significant setback in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduate constituency, where its candidate Satish Chavan was defeated in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election.
The seat went to Pratapsinh Patil, who contested on the ticket of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). The result has prompted a response from NCP leadership, including party president and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.
On Thursday, Pawar acknowledged that the outcome required introspection. Speaking to reporters, she said defeats and victories are part of every election, and what matters is how the party responds once the results are declared.
"We will sit down, reflect and try to improve," she said, adding that the results were definitely a subject for the party to examine seriously.
The broader picture from the council polls shows a divided outcome. The Mahayuti alliance captured the Pune teacher and Amravati teacher constituencies. In contrast, the MVA won three seats: Pune graduate, Nagpur graduate and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduate.
Pawar's comments came after NCP working president Praful Patel described the results on social media as a clear warning. Patel urged the party to regain public confidence, realign its priorities and build a stronger organisational framework.
Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare said the party would hold a review meeting to analyse the results. He said the responsibility for candidate selection and election outcomes lies with the party leadership as a whole.
The results also exposed friction within the Mahayuti. BJP and Shiv Sena have traded allegations, with several leaders in the alliance blaming Shiv Sena for losses. BJP leaders claimed the Sena did not provide the expected support in Pune and Nagpur.
BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban said Shiv Sena's last-minute backing of Sachin Sanap in Pune had weakened the alliance's unity and that the votes for Sanap had not gone to the BJP candidate. He also accused Minister Abdul Sattar of campaigning directly against the NCP nominee in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Ban added that the Mahayuti could have won all five seats had Shiv Sena upheld 'Mahayuti dharma' by supporting both BJP and NCP candidates.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Anand Paranjape responded sharply. He said the BJP had fielded a candidate in Pune who was not even a member of the party and that a seasoned worker would have generated more enthusiasm.
Paranjape maintained that the BJP's own cadres and voters had not embraced the outside candidate, and therefore the blame could not be placed on Shiv Sena. He also said the mindset of contesting and winning every seat alone was unhelpful for the alliance, and called on the BJP to respect its coalition partners.
He advised the BJP, which calls itself the world's largest party, to examine its electoral strategy and internal discontent instead of blaming its allies.