Uddhav Sena Candidate Distant Third In Sangli As Rebel Congress Candidate Wins As Independent After Ticket Denial, BJP Second

Congress rebel Vishal Patil who had contested from the Sangli Lok Sabha constituency with much clamour has defeated the sitting BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil with a clear margin.

The official MVA candidate from Uddhav Sena, Chandrahar Patil came a distant third despite being backed by Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray who personally went to Sangli to announce his candidature and fought against Congress high command for the seat.

Despite not being the official Congress candidate, Patil's victory, who belongs to the prominent political family of Vasantdada Patil, brought joy to the state Congress workers as he had to contest the elections as an independent after being denied a ticket by the party.

Congress leader Vishwajeet Kadam stated, “Vishal Patil led from the first round itself. Only in the sixth round did his lead come down. It goes to show how popular he is. Unfortunately, he did not get the nomination.”

Vishal received 569,651 votes while Sanjaykaka could only command 469,392 votes for himself.

Kadam was one of the prime supporters of Patil for his nomination from Sangli which was blocked at the insistence of Sena (UBT), an alliance partner of Congress in MVA.

Congress central leadership also tried to convince Thackeray regarding Patil's suitability for the seat but the latter refused to budge stating that Sena had already sacrificed Kolhapur and couple other seats for the Congress and so it should be allowed to contest Sangli.

In response to Patil's victory, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut stated, “Congress leaders and workers at the local level ditched our candidate, but the top Congress leaders were in consonance with us. The local leader did not support the MVA candidate. Anyway, we are hopeful that Vishal Patil will remain with MVA.”

In the previous 2019 general elections, Vishal Patil had contested unsuccessfully from Sangli on the Congress ally Shetkari Sanghatna’s ticket. Now, after successfully winning the seat this time, Patil will become the sixth member from his family to represent Sangli in the Lok Sabha.