Mumbai,25 May:The Shiv Sena on Sunday retained the Thane Lok Sabha seat with its candidate Anand Paranjpe defeating his nearest rival Sanjeev Naik of the NCP by a margin of 90,872 votes.
Anand, son of Sena MP Prakash Paranjpe, whose death necessiated the by-polls, polled 4,62,766 votes, while Naik received 3,71,894.The by-poll was held on 22nd May and recorded a low voter turnout. The Thane seat consists of six Assembly segments.
Sanjeev is the son of Maharashtra Minister Ganesh Naik.Soon after the result was out, a jubilant Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray termed it as a victory for the common man in Thane.
"People of Thane were fed up with problems like price rise, water and power shortage and hence defeated the NCP," he told reporters at the party headquarters in Thane.
Sharad Pawar-led NCP is a key ally in the Democratic Front government in the state."This victory will go a long way in our march towards capturing Maharashtra where Assembly elections are due next year," Thackeray said.
Prakash Paranjpe, who passed away in February, had represented the seat for four consecutive terms since 1996.The NCP has been consistently trying to expand its base in Thane, one of the largest Parliamentary constituences in the country.
This time around, senior NCP leaders had campaigned extensively and had hoped to dislodge the saffron outfit in the polls but their effort has come a cropper.
Leaders of the Congress, an ally of NCP in Maharashtra as well at the Centre, had also campaigned for Naik.
Immediately after Paranjpe, who was leading throughout the 13-phase counting, was declared the winner, Shiv Sainiks went into celebration mode.
The Sena supporters shouted slogans outside the Agriculture Produce Market Commitee (APMC) premises in Navi Mumbai, where the counting was held. Courtsey : DD NEWS