The BJP-led Mahayuti has dealt a severe blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra’s western sugarcane belt, securing 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, strengthened its hold across key constituencies in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, and Ahilyanagar districts.
In contrast, the MVA could manage only 12 seats in this stronghold, marking a dramatic fall from its previous performance. The Congress party, in particular, suffered a significant setback, its seat count plummeting from 12 in 2019 to just two.
Vishwajeet Kadam successfully retained the Palus-Kadegaon seat in Sangli, defeating BJP’s Sangram Deshmukh by a margin of 30,064 votes. Similarly, Hemant Ogale won the Shrirampur seat in Ahilyanagar, besting Shiv Sena’s Bhausaheb Kamble by 13,373 votes.
Several prominent Congress leaders faced defeat, including former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in Karad South (Satara), Balasaheb Thorat in Sangamner (Ahilyanagar), and Sangram Thopte in Bhor (Pune district).
The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) also saw considerable losses, securing just two seats. Babaji Kale defeated NCP’s Dilip Mohite Patil in Khed-Alandi (Pune), and Dilip Sopal emerged victorious over 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. Some of the NCP’s successful 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).
On the other hand, the Mahayuti alliance registered several key wins. 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, along with NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil in Ambegaon (Pune).
Statewide, the Mahayuti alliance dominated, securing 233 out of 288 seats, while the MVA was left with just 49.
Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan described the defeat as “shocking,” calling it the “worst-ever” result for Congress in Maharashtra’s assembly elections. He likened it to the party’s poor showing in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, when 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,” Chavan said.
