The Maratha trump card played by the BJP in Satara Lok Sabha constituency failed miserably on Thursday, as the NCP candidate Shrinivas Patil trounced the principal ruling party’s nominee and 13th descendent of Maratha warrior Udyanraje Bhosale in Monday’s bypoll by a comfortable margin.
Though the results had not been formally declared, Patil was leading by 85,689 votes over Udyanraje. The declaration of Patil’s was a mere formality.
A two-time MP and former Governor of Sikkim, 78-year-old Patil had polled 6,31,205 votes as against 5,45,516 votes secured by Bhosale in a stiff electoral battle witnessed between the prominent candidates of the NCP and BJP respectively
Once a close associate of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Udyanraje had quit the Pawar — led party, resigned from Lok Sabha and joined the BJP on September 14.
The Satara Lok Sabha by-election had been necessitated by Udyanraje’s resignation from membership of Lok Sabha.
Udayan’s defeat came as a huge setback for the BJP which had not only roped him into the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls and sought to usurp Maratha card from the NCP by using him like a trophy in its campaign.
The BJP had made it prestige issue to ensure the victory of Udyanraje. So much so that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit had campaigned for Udayanraje.