2 weeks Ago
Several pockets of Maharashtra witnessed nail-biting contests amid the 'Mahayuti' tsunami on counting day, November 23. As many as 36 seats were won by a margin of less than 5,000 votes. Of these, four were won by a narrower margin of less than 1,000 votes.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi won 11 out of the 36 narrow-margin seats, while the Mahayuti won 24. However, it was AIMIM candidate Mohammed Ismail Abdul Khalique, who recorded the narrowest win in this year's elections. Khalique retained the Malegaon Central seat, defeating Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra by just 162 votes.
State Congress president Nana Patole, too, had a photo finish, winning the Sakoli seat by just 208 votes. In 2019, the former Assembly Speaker had won the same seat by a margin of over 6,000 votes. Two Mahayuti candidates — Manda Mhatre (Belapur) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Buldhana) — scrapped through a victory by a margin of less than 1,000 votes.
While BJP's Mhatre won by 377 votes, Sanjay Gaikwad of the Shiv Sena retained his seat by a wafer-thin margin of 877 votes. The Pawar family scion Rohit Pawar narrowly-escaped defeat in Karjat Jamkhed, where he defeated former two-time MLA Ram Shinde by just 1,243 votes. In the 2019 polls, Pawar had won by over 43,000 votes.
In Mumbai's Mahim, a three-cornered fight between incumbent Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Mahesh Sawant and MNS' debutant Amit Thackeray took the electoral battle to the wire. Ultimately, Sawant won by 1,316 votes. Three ministers in the outgoing government could barely manage to retain their traditional bastions.
NCP leader and co-operation Minster Dilip Walse Patil won the Ambegaon seat for the eighth consecutive time, defeating Devdutta Nikam of the NCP (SP) by just 1,523 votes. Last time, he had won the seat by over 66,000 votes. Two Shiv Sena ministers, too, survived a scare.
Health Minister Tanaji Sawant won Paranda by 1,509 votes, while Minorities Development Minister Abdul Sattar retained Sillod by a margin of 2,420 votes. CONSTITUENCY WINNING CANDIDATE PARTY MARGIN Malegaon Central Mufti Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique AIMIM 162 Sakoli Nanabhau Falgunrao Patole INC 208 Belapur Manda Vijay Mhatre BJP 377 Buldhana Gaikwaad Sanjay Rambhau Shiv Sena 841 Nawapur Shrirshkumar Surupsing Naik INC 1,121 Karjat Jamkhed Rohit Pawar NCP (Sharad Pawar) 1,243 Akola West Sajid Khan Pathan INC 1,283 Mahim Mahesh Baliram Sawant Shiv Sena (UBT) 1,316 Paranda Tanaji Jayawant Sawant Shiv Sena 1,509 Parner Kashinath Mathadu Date Sir NCP 1,526 Ambegaon Dilip Dattatray Walse Patel NCP 1,523 Jogeshwari East Anant (Bala) B Nar Shiv Sena (UBT) 1,541 Versova Haroon Khan Shiv Sena (UBT) 1,600 Shahapur Anant (Bala) B Nar NCP 1,672 Karvir Chandradeep Shashikant Narake Shiv Sena 1,976 Nanded South Anand Shankar Tidke Shiv Sena 2,132 Aurangabad East Atul Moreshwar Save BJP 2,161 Ghansawangi Udhan Hikmat Baliram Shiv Sena 2,309 Sillod Abdul Sattar Shiv Sena 2,420 Kaij Namita Akshay Mundada BJP 2,687 Ralegaon Ashok Ramaji Wooike BJP 2,812 Guhagar Jadhav Bhaskar Bhaurao Shiv Sena (UBT) 2,830 Akkalkuwa Amshya Fulji Padvi Shiv Sena 2,904 Rajura Deorao Vithoba Bhongle BJP 3,054 Vasai Sneha Dube Pandit BJP 3,154 Chikhli Shweta Vidyadhar Mahale BJP 3,201 Anushakti Nagar Sana Malik NCP 3,378 Nanded North Balaji Devidasrao Kalyankar Shiv Sena 3,502 Umarga Pravin Virbhadrayya Swami Shiv Sena (UBT) 3,965 Nevasa Vitthal Vakilrao Langhe Shiv Sena 4,021 Kurla Kudalkar Mangesh Shiv Sena 4,187 Jinture Bordikar Meghna Deepak Sakore BJP 4,516 Sindkhed Raja Kayande Manoj Devanand NCP 4,650 Vadgaon Sheri Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare NCP (Sharad Pawar) 4,710 Partur Babanrao Dattatray Yadav (Lonikar) BJP 4,740 Mehkar Kharat Siddharth Rambhau Shiv Sena (UBT) 4,819 ..
