Veteran politician Sharad Pawar has managed to retain the support of NCP workers at the grassroots, with the NCP (SP) led by him winning 8 out of the 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra, achieving an impressive strike rate of 80 per cent.
In contrast, the Nationalist Congress Party led by his estranged nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won just one of the four seats it contested, recording a strike rate of 25 per cent.
Interestingly, the Congress, which won only one Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra in the 2019 polls, made an impressive comeback, winning 13 out of the 17 seats it contested, with a strike rate of 75 per cent. Notably, most of the constituencies won by NCP (SP) are from western Maharashtra, the traditional stronghold of Pawar.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP emerged victorious only in the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency, with the party's state unit president Sunil Tatkare defeating his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Anant Geete.
The eight seats won by the NCP (SP) include Baramati, which witnessed a riveting family battle between Sharad Pawar's daughter and sitting MP Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar. The BJP, which contested 28 seats, won only 9, recording a strike rate of 31 per cent. BJP's ally Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, contested 15 seats and won 7, with a strike rate of 45 per cent.
On the other hand, the rival Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray recorded a strike rate of 41 per cent, winning only 9 of the 21 seats it contested. Notably, the Sangli constituency was won by Independent candidate Vishal Patil, who is a Congressman.
Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi of Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress collectively won 30 seats, while the Mahayuti of BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP was restricted to 17. -- PTI