In what could be seen as a historic victory, Congress’ Jayashri Jadhav on Saturday became the first woman to win an assembly seat in Kolhapur city since Independence. She defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Satyajit Kadam by 18,901 votes in the by-poll in Kolhapur (North) Assembly segment that was necessitated by the death of her husband Chandrkant Jadhav, a sitting Congress MLA.
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The by-election had turned in to a prestige battle after BJP decided to deploy all its strength in the constituency and raked up the issue of Hindutva, amid allegations of graft and actions by Enforcement Directorate (ED) against tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Kolhapur being the home district of state BJP president Chandrakant Patil, the BJP left no stone unturned to win the by-poll. The MVA attack was led by Minister of State and Congress leader Satej Patil, who was supported by veteran Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Hasan Mushrif and local Shiv Sena leaders.
“Those who were thinking that there was a rift within the MVA have received their answer through the results. We all worked together and we all worked for victory. The people of Kolhapur have rejected the venomous campaign of the BJP,” said Mr. Patil. Ms. Jadhav said the people of Kolhapur had trusted her and she would try her best to fulfill their wishes. She is the first woman MLA from Kolhapur city and only the third from district, the previous woman MLAs being Sanjaivani Gaikwad and Sandhyatai Kupekar.
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Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the issue of loudspeakers in mosques was deliberately raised during election campaign. “They dreamt of electoral gains through such tactics. But people of Maharashtra have refused to be a part of such communal politics,” he said.
The victory is important for the MVA which is facing a daily onslaught by BJP leaders accusing the State government of corruption. In addition, Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is trying to corner the Sena over the issue of Hindutva. Initially, speculations were rife about Sena’s former MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar being unhappy at the seat being given to the Congress. “The results show that we all stayed together, campaigned together and won together,” said Mr. Patil.
BJP said that it accepted the people’s verdict, but denied that it contested on the issue of Hindutva. “We fought this election on developmental issues. We breathe Hindutva and do not need it for poll purposes,” said State BJP president Chandrakant Patil.