Manoj Bhimrao Ghorpade of the BJP win from the Karad North assembly constituency during the Maharashtra elections 2024 on Saturday beating five-time MLA Shamrao Pandurang Patil of the NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction. Patil, a seasoned politician and son of former MLA Pandurang Patil, had made Karad North seat his bastion but was humbled by the Mahayuti wave that swept across Maharashtra.
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Manoj Ghorpade defeated Shamrao Pandurang Patil by a margin of 43,691 votes. At the end of 26 rounds of counting, Ghorpade had secured 1,34,626 votes while Patil got 90,935. Interestingly it was the third time that Ghorpade took on Balasaheb Patil from the seat. In 2019, Ghorpade had managed 51,294 votes while contesting as an Independent while the NCP leader got 1,00,509. In 2014, Ghorpade finished third with 43,903 votes behind Patil (78,324) and Congressman Dhairyashil Dnyandeo Kadam (57,817).
Shamrao Pandurang Patil, who had served as the state Co-operation and Marketing minister in the MVA government from 2019 to 2022, represented Karad North for 25 years. Thus, Manoj Ghorpade has emerged as a true giant killer in the Mahayuti ranks.
CHECK Karad North Assembly Constituency Result HERE
Maharashtra-based media reported that Ajit Pawar's NCP wanted to fight from the Karad North seat against Patil ahead of the polls. However, the BJP wanted the seat for Manoj Ghorpade, who is an influential figure in the constituency. As soon as the counting began on Saturday, it became evident that the Mahayuti made the right call by fielding Ghorpade against Balasaheb Patil as he maintained his lead from the start. The BJP nominee managed to keep his lead intact to the last round, snatching a stronghold away from the Sharad Pawar camp.
Patil had won the 1999 and 2004 assembly elections before the reorganization of Karad North assembly constituency. Later in 2009, after the constituencies in Maharashtra were restructured, he contested again to continue his winning streak. However, NCP decided to field Atul Bhosle from Karad North in 2009, forcing Shamrao Pandurang Patil to contest as an Independent. He won once again proving his influence among the voters. Sharad Pawar kept him close ever since, Marathi media reports said.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections Result 2024
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance retained power, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, as the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 46 seats. The Election Commission announced that the BJP has won 132 seats, the Shiv Sena won 57, while the NCP got 41 seats.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shine of Shiv Sena and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar from BJP and NCP, respectively, are among the prominent candidates to win the assembly elections, results of which were declared on Saturday.
All ministers of the Mahayuti, who were in the fray, won. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, and state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule also emerged victorious. Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Varun Sardesai won from Mumbai. Sardesai defeated NCP candidate Zeeshan Siddique from the Vandre East constituency.
