Despite Congress candidate Ravindra Chavan winning the Lok Sabha bypoll for the Nanded constituency, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) failed to secure any of the Assembly segments in Nanded. A closer analysis of the results reveals trends in Maharashtra Assembly elections that Opposition leaders are calling for further investigation into.
Chavan in the Nanded bypolls got 5,86,788 votes as against 5,85,331 votes polled by Santukrao Hambarde of the BJP. Chavan’s slender winning margin of 1,457 came mainly from the postal ballots where he had got a good lead. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate Avinash Bhosikar got 80,176 votes and ate into both the candidates’ votes.
The bypoll for the Nanded Lok Sabha seat was necessitated due to the sudden death of Vasantrao Balwantrao Chavan, who had defeated sitting BJP MP Pratap Patil Chikhalikar by a handsome margin of over 59,000 votes in Lok Sabha elections 2024.
The Lok Sabha bypoll was held simultaneously with the Maharashtra Assembly elections, in which the MVA faced a complete rout. All the six Assembly segments in Nanded – Nanded North, Nanded South, Deglur, Bhokar, Mukhed and Naigaon – elected Mahayuti candidates. Congress candidates came second in these six Assembly seats. The votes polled by Mahayuti candidates in the six Assembly seats were 6,12,062 while Congress candidates polled 4,27,465 votes.
The Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha bypoll received 1,59,301 votes more than the total number of votes garnered by all the MVA candidates in the same Assembly constituencies. Since both elections took place simultaneously at the same polling stations, this indicated significant cross-voting. In other words, some voters who cast their ballots for the Congress in the Lok Sabha bypoll voted for the Mahayuti in the Assembly elections.
Chavan stated that cross-voting is not uncommon in local elections, such as those for Zalmi parishads and panchayat committees, where voters often choose different candidates. However, he expressed confusion about the extent of cross-voting observed this time, noting that voters do not typically engage in this behaviour during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Chavan requested a closer examination of how Mahayuti candidates won by significant margins, while MVA candidates won by only narrow margins. “This requires a deeper analysis,” he said.
Former minister Madhav Kinhalkar also raised concerns regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the conduct of elections. Kinhalkar, who left the BJP after former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the party, emphasised that the possibility of cross-voting did not seem evident from the situation on the ground. “We need to thoroughly inspect how the elections are conducted,” he said.
Following the Maharashtra Assembly elections, concerns have been raised, particularly by opposition parties, regarding the conduct of the elections. Activist Baba Adhav has initiated a fast in Pune to address these issues. Additionally, Congress leader Sunil Kedar is scheduled to lead a bike rally in Nagpur on Sunday to protest the election process and highlight the problems related to the EVMs.
Nanded Lok Sabha by polls:
| Congress | BJP | VBA | 4th |
| 586788 | 585331 | 80176 | 19900 |
Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024:
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