Chhatrapati SAMBHAJINAGAR: Aurangabad has emerged as Mahayuti’s face-saver. However, it faced a near rout in Marathwada after losing seven Lok Sabha seats to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
In a surprising turn, BJP’s Pankaja Munde was defeated by Bajrang Sonawane from NCP (SCP) by a margin of more than 6,585 votes, as the results revealed on Tuesday. Until last June, Pankaja was eager to contest from the Parli assembly segment — and avenge her defeat by her estranged cousin Dhanajay Munde in the 2019 poll.
The political landscape underwent a significant shift following Ajit Pawar’s departure from NCP and his alliance with the Mahayuti (BJP and chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena) government. This change in dynamics prompted Pankaja to withdraw her claim to Parli reluctantly. On March 13, to the surprise of many, the BJP leadership announced her candidature for the Beed LS constituency covering the entire district.
