MUMBAI: In a big boost to the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Congress retained the Kolhapur-North (Urban) Assembly seat in Maharashtra, with party candidate Jayshree Jadhav winning by 19,000 votes against BJP candidate Satyajeet Kadam on Saturday.
Jadhav’s win is historic as this is the first time a woman candidate has bagged the Kolhapur-North seat. The bypoll was necessitated by the demise of Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav due to Covid-19. The Congress decided to field his wife, Jayshree, and the other two alliance partners – Shiv Sena and NCP — supported her.
This is the second win for the MVA after the Deglur Assembly bypoll victory in Nanded district while the BJP had won the Pandarpur seat. The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Devendra Fadnavis had said during the campaign said that the people of Kolhapur-North would vote on the Hindutva issue. “The BJP tried to polarise the voters on Hindutva and Hanuman Chalisa issues but people voters preferred to cast their votes on development issues. This election is a big setback to Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil,” said a political observer.
Patil said his party accepted the mandate while Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said it was a “victory of progressive thoughts.”NCP minister Jitendra Ahwad said bypoll victory was a triumph of the progressive ideologies of Mahatma Phule, King Shahu Maharaj and Dr BR Ambedkar while Shiv Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray attributed the win to the unity of Maha Vikas Aghadi workers. It was Satej Patil, the guardian minister of Kolhapur, who scripted the Congress candidate’s victory by keeping a low profile and focusing on door-to-door campaigning.