Shinde's Shiv Sena Achieves Victory Over Uddhav Thackeray's Faction in Maharashtra Elections

The Shiv Sena, under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has emerged victorious in 36 constituencies in Maharashtra, defeating the rival faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde's faction, part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, secured 57 out of 81 contested seats. Meanwhile, the Uddhav-led Sena UBT, aligned with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, managed to win only 20 seats despite fielding 95 candidates.

In a significant political move in June 2022, Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray and joined forces with the BJP to become chief minister. This decision split the Shiv Sena and led to frequent disputes between the two factions. Eventually, Shinde gained control of the party name and its 'bow-and-arrow' symbol from the Election Commission.

Key Wins for Shinde's Faction

Shinde retained most of his loyal MLAs from the rebellion two years ago, who delivered victories in several constituencies. Chandrakant Sonawane defeated Prabhakar Sonawane in Chopda, while Kishore Patil won against Vaishali Suryavanshi in Pachora. Other notable victories include Sanjay Gaikwad in Buldhana and Ashish Jaiswal in Ramtek.

In Kannad, Sanjana Jadhav defeated Udaysing Rajput, and Sanjay Bangar emerged victorious against Santosh Tarfe in Kalamnuri. Minister Abdul Sattar won against Suresh Bankar in Sillod. Pradeep Jaiswal triumphed over Balasaheb Thorat in Aurangabad Central, while Sanjay Shirsat beat Raju Shinde in Aurangabad West.

Successes for Sena UBT

Despite setbacks, Sena UBT secured wins in 14 seats against Shiv Sena candidates. In Mehkar, Rambhau Kharat defeated Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Bhaskar Raymulkar. Nitin Bhikanrao Deshmukh claimed victory in Balapur. Gajanan Lawate of Sena UBT defeated Abhijit Adsuk in Daryapur, while Rahul Patil won against Anand Bharose in Parbhani.

Sunil Raut defeated Suvarna Karanje in Vikhroli, and Anant Nar emerged victorious against Manisha Waikar in Jogeshwari West. Sunil Prabhu triumphed over Sanjay Nirupam in Dindoshi. Aaditya Thackeray retained his Worli seat by defeating Milind Deora.

Overall Election Outcome

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance maintained its hold on Maharashtra by winning 230 out of 288 assembly seats. The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi fell short with only 46 seats. The Election Commission reported that BJP secured 132 seats, Shiv Sena won 57, and NCP got 41 seats.

In terms of vote share, Shiv Sena garnered 12.38%, while Sena UBT achieved 9.96%. The Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar candidates won 10 seats within the MVA framework, Congress secured 16 seats, and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray won 20 seats.

The election results have solidified Eknath Shinde's position within Maharashtra politics while highlighting the challenges faced by Uddhav Thackeray's faction.