The biennial election for the 11 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council gave a boost to the BJP-led Mahayuti and posed a setback for the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA). While the Mahayuti succeeded in winning 9 seats, the MVA had to be satisfied with just 2 seats. Jayant Patil of the Peasants and Workers Party, part of the MVA alliance, faced a humiliating defeat in the contest.
After his defeat, Patil opened up about what led to the outcome against him. Patil had gone to meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who had supported him in the MLC poll. However, Pawar's support did not help Patil win the election.
"Mr. Pawar's health isn't well, he isn't even answering calls. I returned without meeting him," informed Jayant Patil on Saturday. Patil had gone to Silver Oak, Pawar's residence, but had to return without meeting him. He later expressed his feelings in a press conference, stating, "I was relying on 12 votes from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), but one vote was lost."
"The kind of horse-trading that has happened is unprecedented in Maharashtra and the country's history. A defeat is a defeat, and I am introspecting on it. Our central committee is in a meeting right now. We will fight again, but such politics was not seen in Maharashtra before. In the past elections I contested, such situations did not occur," said Jayant Patil.
Patil continued, "If I had received four more votes, I would have secured almost 25 to 30 more votes in the second preference and won. That was the calculation. The outcome would have been different had some calculations among allies been done properly. I will have to introspect and study the situation thoroughly."
He further emphasized, "One vote from the NCP was lost, but I received the remaining 11 votes, and our one vote was also secured. Our workers never get disheartened. We are still with the Mahavikas Aghadi and Sharad Pawar, and that remains unchanged."
Before 2019, when the Peasants and Workers Party had three to four MLAs in the Legislative Assembly, Jayant Patil used to win easily. However, this time he faced a shocking defeat. During campaigns, Patil always claimed that his party had two lakh firm votes in his district. He assured Anant Geete a lead of at least one lakh votes in Alibaug but allegedly helped Sunil Tatkare covertly, according to political analysts.
Despite the PWP's strength in the Raigad and Maval Lok Sabha constituencies, the candidates from the Thackeray faction of the Mahavikas Aghadi, Sanjog Waghere and Anant Geete, suffered significant defeats.
Following Patil's defeat, various speculations are circulating on social media. There are widespread discussions suggesting that Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray were behind Jayant Patil's loss.