Maharashtra Election Results: Pankaja loses in Parli as cousin wins

Pankaja Munde. Picture courtesy/ Pankaja Munde's Instagram account

Parli: NCP leader Dhananjay Munde has declared victory on the seat in Parli as his cousin and sitting MLA Pankaja concedes defeat. As per the latest numbers seen in the Election Commission's database, Dhananjay, late BJP leader Gopinath Munde's nephew has won the seat with 122,114 votes, with Pankaja losing the constituency with 91,413 votes.

In an attempt to carry the late BJP leader's legacy, the competition between the both leaders has been in focus in the state elections this year.

In a recent interview with mid-day, Dhananjay, the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council had earlier said that he has the logic to show how the BJP-Shiv Sena combine will be decimated in this election as he considers BJP's "Ab ki baar, 220 paar" over. He had also said that he was Gopinath Munde's shadow and knows of his dreams better than Pankaja. "BJP is dealing with rebels in 69 constituencies while in 83 constituencies, Sena leaders have rebelled. When you take these seats out, the combine is left with only 150 seats that are not facing issues."

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On the other hand, Pankaja, who is a two-time MLA from Parli, aimed at Dhananjay in another interview with mid-day saying that, "I am not fighting against my brother. He is fighting against me. I won in 2009 and 2014 and he lost the election in 2014. After he entered NCP, he has made the party zero, not just in this district but also in the state."

Dhananjay also seemed confident of his win as he focused his election campaign on key issues in the constituency -- the bad condition of roads, water scarcity, and farm distress. Also the fact that the NCP controls the local municipal corporation in Parli, with a majority of 28 out of 32 seats, can be seen as a boosting factor for his win in constituency.

Dhananjay had quit BJP in 2012 as he was upset over his uncle promoting Pankaja. Thus, he joined the NCP and was appointed a member of the Rajya Sabha.

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