BJP candidate Bhimrao Tapkir on Monday won the Khadakwasla Assembly bypoll in Pune district, defeating NCP candidate Harshada Wanjale.
Tapkir won by a margin of 3,625 votes, defeating Harshada, widow of MNS legislator Ramesh Wanjale, whose death necessitated the bypoll, which was held on 13th October.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was instrumental in bringing Harshada Wanjale to NCP fold, a day ahead of the bypoll.The byelection was a matter of prestige for Ajit Pawar, as he wields sway over local civic bodies in Pune.
Reacting to BJP’s victory, Shiv Sena spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut said, “It is not only the defeat of Congress-NCP alone, but also the defeat of Ajit Pawar.”
RPI leader Ramdas Athawale said that the victory of the BJP candidate is the result of his party’s alliance with the Shiv Sena-BJP combine.
The bypoll had become a prestige fight for NCP, with Ajit Pawar and NCP MP Supriya Sule personally supervising the election campaign.
Khadakwasla Assembly segment forms a part of the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency represented by Sule, daughter of NCP president Sharad Pawar.
Reacting to the verdict, Sule said it called for an “introspection” on the part of NCP and she owned up responsibility of the defeat as MP from Baramati.
BJP MLA Girish Bapat from Pune said the victory of “maha-yuti” (mega-alliance) would be a trend-setter in the future Assembly elections in the state as the people had voted against the ruling coalition and “high-handedness” of Ajit Pawar.
The win brought joy to the Sena-BJP and RPI camp with Sena leader from Pune Neelam Gorhe terming the victory as the first win of the “grand” alliance of the saffron camp with the RPI.
“This is the beginning of the downfall of the Congress- NCP, which has been ruling the state for over a decade,” she said.
RPI leader Ramdas Athawale said Tapkir’s win was a fitting reply to Congress’s gameplan of splitting dalit votes.
State BJP president Sudhir Mungantiwar said Tapkir’s win was the sign of winds of political change that will follow in the state.
Harshada was a long-time Congress Zilla Parishad member from Pune district and switched over to the NCP as the party refused to give the seat to Congress saying Khadakwasla fell in its quota. Tapkir is a local corporator.