BJP rebel Gokul Gite pulled off a surprise victory in the Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Nashik district local governing body constituency on Monday, defeating the ruling Shiv Sena’s official nominee Narendra Darade.
Counting was held on Monday for the June 18 elections to 11 seats in the state legislature’s Upper House. Gite, contesting as an independent, secured 357 votes, while Darade received 248 votes, giving the rebel candidate a winning margin of 109 votes, according to election officials.
The result came as a setback for the ruling alliance, with Darade, a nominee of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, expected to put up a strong fight.
Darade had campaigned in the constituency with the support of several elected representatives. His defeat comes at a time when the Shinde-led Sena has been facing political turbulence following the rebellion by six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members, with two of them confirming their move to the ruling Sena.
Reacting to the result, Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande raised doubts over the outcome.
"There is a serious doubt about the result as we were assured that our candidate would be supported," she said.
According to a PTI report, a visibly upset Darade left the counting centre after it became clear that a majority of local representatives had voted in favour of Gite.
The Nashik contest had remained contentious after Gite entered the race against Darade. Gite had alleged that Darade used foul language against him.
Although Gite initially contested as an independent after the dispute, senior Mahayuti leaders, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, BJP minister Girish Mahajan and Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant, intervened to resolve the issue.
Following discussions with senior leaders, Gite had stopped actively campaigning. However, his name remained on the ballot as the deadline for withdrawal had already passed.
Clarifying his position after the result, Gite said he had only suspended his personal campaign, while his supporters continued canvassing on his behalf.
The biennial elections were originally announced for 17 seats, including one bypoll. However, voting was required in only 11 constituencies after Mahayuti alliance candidates won six seats unopposed.
Those elected unopposed included 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.
Tanpure had joined the BJP shortly before filing his nomination. The Ahilyanagar leader, nephew of NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, had earlier served as a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has alleged that the ruling alliance used money and muscle power to force rival candidates to withdraw.
