Maharashtra polls: No ghar wapsi for candidates who made ‘friendly’ switches

Defeated in their constituencies despite internal adjustments, candidates will grow roots in the new parties

Mumbai: Eight politicians who lost their seats in the Maharashtra assembly election even after being accommodated into different parties within coalitions “on a friendly note” have decided against returning to their earlier party of choice.

BJP's Shaina NC was fielded as a Shiv Sena candidate from Mumbadevi to challenge Amin Patel of Congress. (Yogen Shah)

After unsuccessfully contesting from Karmala, near Solapur, 33-year-old Digvijay Bagal is in no quandary about his political allegiance. The Bagals have been in the political space for a few decades. After being a part of the BJP for one-and-a-half years, when he failed to secure candidacy from the party, the Mahayuti nominated him to run as a Shiv Sena candidate. The sour turn of events has not dampened Digvijay’s spirits, who is content to have garnered “more votes than before” for now. “Hence, I will continue to remain a loyal Shiv Sainik, as I managed to improve my numbers using the bow and arrow symbol. I will continue to represent the Mahayuti,” said Bagal, when queried if he will return to BJP. He lost to Narayan Patil from NCP (SP).

Likewise, Shiv Sena’s candidate from Bhiwandi East, Santosh Shetty, who had moved from BJP, and lost to Samajwadi Party’s Rais Shaikh by a margin of over 52,000 votes also intends to stay on with caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde’s party. A four-time corporator from Bhiwandi and a known BJP face, he said, “I plan to contest the upcoming civic elections from Sena, and will continue working for the party in future.”

A familiar figure in the BJP and a known name in the fashion industry, Shaina NC was fielded as a Shiv Sena candidate from Mumbadevi to challenge Amin Patel of Congress. Despite spending two decades with BJP and rising to the level of national executive, she was unable to win the seat for Mahayuti. She shared her post-poll plans: “Mahayuti leaders had decided that I contest from Shiv Sena; the ideologies of both parties are the same and we are part of the alliance. I will continue to work for the people as part of Shiv Sena itself.”

Fahad Ahmad, 32, entered the fray as an NCP (SP) candidate switching over from Samajwadi Party (SP), just two days before the deadline of filing nominations. Despite his defeat, he plans to stay on with Sharad Pawar’s party, as “both Pawar and Supriya Sule put their trust in me”.

“I will continue to be a part of NCP (SP) and take up local issues with authorities,” said Ahmad, who had actively participated in the anti-CAA protests in Mumbai and across the country. He led major protests as a student leader demanding reinstatement of fee waiver for SC, ST and OBC students at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. After a face-off with the then director of the institute, he had refused to accept his MPhil degree, following which the organisation barred him from registering for PhD studies.

He lost to Sana Malik of NCP.

Contesting on Shiv Sena ticket from Balapur, Baliram Siraskar, was elected to the constituency twice before – in 2009, as an independent, supported by Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) and in 2014, as a BBM candidate. Five years later, he contested the Lok Sabha polls in Buldhana from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) ticket. Upset at not being fielded by the party in 2019 assembly election, he switched over to the undivided NCP, and moved to BJP two years ago. He was fielded as an NCP candidate by the Mahayuti, but lost to Nitin Deshmukh of Sena (UBT). He said, he “has not given any thought of reverting to the BJP; I have been a part of BJP for the last 2.5 years”.

Ajit Pingle, had unsuccessfully contested from the Osmanabad assembly seat in 2019 as an independent, later joined BJP and was accommodated into Shiv Sena just ahead of the latest polls. He lost to Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Kailash Patil.

Two other unsuccessful nominees represented NCP after moving from BJP -- Nishikant Patil, founder of Prakash Shikshan Mandal, from Islampur, is the son of well-known labour union leader late Prakashrao Patil (Tatya), known for forming a union of MSEB employees; and former MP Sanjaykaka Patil who quit the undivided NCP in February 2014 to join the BJP and was fielded from Tasgaon.

Both candidates lost to NCP (SP) -- Nishikant Patil to Jayant Patil and Sanjaykaka Patil to Rohit Patil.

Pingle, Nishikant Patil and Sanjaykaka Patil remained unavailable, despite several calls made by HT.