Bypoll results 2019 | Sharad Pawar's iconic speech trumps NCP turncoat Udayanraje Bhosale in Satara?

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena alliance looks set to form the government in Maharashtra comfortably, the BJP's hope of securing for itself another Lok Sabha seat from Maharashtra seems to be distant for now.

The by-elections in Satara Lok Sabha constituency- necessitated after the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Udayanraje Bhosale, resigned to join the BJP- seem to be going the NCP way. NCP's Shriniwas Patil, a close Sharad Pawar aide, is taking on Bhosale from the constituency.

Bhosale, who had contested from the seat in 2014 and 2019 from NCP, had won both times by a comfortable margin. The leader, who is known to be the strongman from the region, is a descendant of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Satara has traditionally been a Congress-NCP bastion, but Bhosale is known to wield considerable influence within the region, and was expected to get the BJP another parliamentary seat in its kitty. Patil, meanwhile, was reluctant to contest against Bhosale citing age and health reasons, but he was persuaded to enter the fray after Pawar reportedly convinced him.

Both the BJP and the NCP had left no stone unturned for their respective candidates. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a rally in Satara and praised Bhosale and his oratory skills, NCP chief Pawar stole the show with his rally.

Speaking on a rain-soaked podium on October 19, Pawar had said he had made a mistake by giving the ticket to Bhosale. The speech was iconic, and the image of a 78-year-old Pawar addressing NCP workers in heavy rains dominated social media.

This, observers have said, might have turned the tide in favour of NCP in Satara.

In addition to that, BJP was hoping to cash in on the Maratha votes by pointing out that a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji is siding with the saffron party. That, however, does not seem to have worked out for the party, reports suggest.

Patil has served as the former Governor of Sikkim. He is also known as 'Dadasaheb' and is a close aide of Pawar's.

While the Congress was keen on fielding former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, from Satara, Chavan was not ready to contest from the seat since he did not want to enter national politics. A call from Pawar then to Patil had readied Patil to contest from the Satara seat, reports suggest.

Patil was a part of the Congress before he defected along with Pawar loyalists in 1999 when the latter floated the NCP. Get access to India's fastest growing financial subscriptions service Moneycontrol Pro for as little as Rs 599 for first year. Use the code "GETPRO". Moneycontrol Pro offers you all the information you need for wealth creation including actionable investment ideas, independent research and insights & analysis For more information, check out the Moneycontrol website or mobile app.