Prithviraj Chavan to Yugendra Pawar: Bigwigs who suffered jolt in Maharashtra elections

In a jolt to the Congress, senior party leader Prithviraj Chavan lost from the Karad South Assembly constituency by a margin of 39,355 votes

Following the decisive victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance over the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, the spotlight is now on those leaders who suffered a massive setback.

Here’s a look at the heavyweights across parties that suffered a massive defeat:

Prithviraj Chavan: In a jolt to the Congress, senior party leader Prithviraj Chavan lost from the Karad South Assembly constituency by a margin of 39,355 votes over BJP’s Atul Bhosale.

Dhiraj Deshmukh: Another prominent face of Congress Dhiraj Deshmukh lost the Latur constituency by a margin of over 6,000 votes against BJP’s Ramesh Karad.

Zeeshan Siddique: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Zeeshan Siddique, son of late politician Baba Siddique, lost the Vandre East seat by a margin of over 11,000 votes even as Mahayuti swept the polls.

Yashomati Thakur: Yashomati Chandrakant Thakur of Indian National Congress lost the Teosa Assembly constituency by a margin of over 7,617 votes.

Hitendra Thakur: Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi’s Hitendra Thakur, who won the Vasai assembly constituency both in 2019 and 2014, lost this time with a margin of 3,153 votes.

Yugendra Shrinivas Pawar: NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) candidate Yugendra Shrinivas Pawar, who is also the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar, lost against relative and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar with a margin of over 100,000 votes.

Fahad Ahmad: NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) candidate Fahad Ahmad, who is also the husband of Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker, lost against NCP's (Ajit Pawar faction's) Sana Malik by a close margin of 3,300 votes in Anushakti Nagar seat. Ahmad was making his poll debut in this Assembly elections.

Ramesh Bagwe: Congress candidate and former minister Ramesh Bagwe lost against BJP's Sunil Kamble by a vote margin of over 10,000 votes in Pune Cantonment constituency.

Ganpatrao Patil: Congress candidate Ganpatrao Patil lost against BJP's Rajendra Shamgonda Patil by a big margin of over 40,000 votes in Shirol assembly constituency.

Samarjeet Ghatge: NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) candidate Samarjeetsinh Ghatge was defeated by NCP's (Ajit Pawar faction's) Hasan Miyalal Mushrif by a margin of 11,500 votes in Kagal Assembly constituency.

Balasaheb Thorat: In a significant blow, Congress candidate Balasaheb Thorat, who has been an MLA since 1985, lost to Shiv Sena's Amol Dhondiba Khatal by a margin of over 10,000 votes in the assembly seat of Sangamner.

Harshvardhan Shahajirao Patil: NCP's (Sharad Pawar's faction) candidate Harshvardhan Shahajirao Patil lost by a margin of over 19,000 votes against NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) candidate Vithoba Bharane Dattatraya in Indapur assembly constituency.

Amit Thackrey: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Amit Thackrey lost against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Mahesh Baliram Sawant by a margin of over 17,000 votes in Mumbai's Mahim constituency. Thackrey is the son of MNS chief Raj Thackrey.

Krishnarao Parshram Patil: Shiv Sena (UBT) Krishnarao Parshram Patil was defeated by Shiv Sena's Prakash Anandrao Abitkar with a margin of more than 38,000 votes in Radhanagari assembly seat.

Sandesh Parkar: Shiv Sena UBT's Sandesh Parkar registered one of the biggest defeats in the Maharashtra Assembly election results with a loss margin of over 58,000 against BJP's Nitesh Narayan Rane in the seat of Kankavli.