Sugar belt turns Mahayuti stronghold, bitter blow to MVA in Western Maharashtra

The BJP-led Mahayuti has delivered a crushing blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra’s western sugarcane belt, winning 53 out of 70 assembly seats in the region. The ruling coalition, which includes Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, consolidated its hold over constituencies spanning Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, and Ahilyanagar districts.

The MVA managed to secure just 12 seats in the region, marking a sharp decline from its previous performance. Congress, the biggest loser, saw its seat tally plummet from 12 in 2019 to just two.

Vishwajeet Kadam retained the Palus-Kadegaon constituency in Sangli, defeating BJP’s Sangram Deshmukh by a margin of 30,064 votes, while Hemant Ogale clinched the Shrirampur seat in Ahilyanagar, defeating Shiv Sena’s Bhausaheb Kamble by 13,373 votes.

Prominent Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, and Sangram Thopte, faced defeats in Karad South (Satara), Sangamner (Ahilyanagar), and Bhor (Pune district), respectively.

The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) also suffered significant setbacks, winning only two seats. Babaji Kale defeated NCP’s Dilip Mohite Patil in Khed-Alandi (Pune), while Dilip Sopal edged past Shiv Sena’s Rajendra Raut in Barshi (Solapur).

Despite the setbacks, Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) managed to secure eight of its 10 statewide wins from western Maharashtra. Victorious candidates included Bapusaheb Pathare (Vadgaon Sheri - Pune), Rohit Pawar (Karjat Jamkhed - Ahilyanagar), Narayan Patil (Karmala - Solapur), Abhijit Patil (Madha - Solapur), Raju Khare (Mohol - Solapur), Uttam Jankar (Malshiras), Jayant Patil (Islampur - Sangli), and Rohit Patil (Tasgaon - Sangli).

In contrast, the Mahayuti alliance recorded a string of key victories. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar defeated his nephew Yugendra Pawar (NCP-SP) in Baramati, while BJP leaders Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Chandrakant Patil won in Shirdi and Kothrud (Pune), respectively. Shivendraraje Bhosale (Satara) and Subhash Deshmukh (Solapur South) also emerged victorious, as did NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil in Ambegaon (Pune).

Statewide, the Mahayuti alliance secured a commanding 233 out of 288 seats, leaving the MVA with just 49.

Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan termed the defeat "shocking" and described it as the "worst-ever" for Congress in Maharashtra assembly polls. He compared it to the party’s performance in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, where Congress won only 20 out of 48 seats in the state. "This is a shocking defeat and is the worst-ever in the assembly polls."