Congress workers celebrate Abhijit Wanjarri’s victory in Nagpur on Thursday
Had MVA lost all the seats, the opposition would have lost the momentum from the protests.
Political observers said although the opposition bloc showed little to no coordination during the polls, it has been resurrected by Congress ’s and NCP (SP)’s tough wins in Nagpur and Pune graduates constituencies—both considered BJP bastions—that too at a time when Mahayuti was seen as trying to undermine the protests’ impact by citing its electoral wins in other states. So, MVA is naturally upbeat,” said a political observer. Congress was particularly buoyant over its show in Nagpur, “the CM’s home district and the Sangh’s capital”. State party chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said Abhijit Wanjarri’s win had stripped BJP of its “arrogance” and was a clarion call for change. Judging by the allegations of BJP functionaries, no matter how much they bicker and put on a show, they will come together again for the sake of corrupt deals and sharing the spoils of power,” he said. State party president Shashikant Shinde said NCP (SP)’s wins from two constituencies demonstrated that the party continues to enjoy the support of common citizens and the youth, and rejected claims that the Sharad Pawar-led party had become politically irrelevant. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar trained his guns on CM Devendra Fadnavis , pointing out he had campaigned extensively in Nagpur “and went door-to-door to persuade the rebels to withdraw”. National party spokesperson Clyde Crasto said “arrogance and overconfidence” caused Fadnavis and Mahayuti grave embarrassment.
“The MLC polls have damaged Mahayuti a lot in terms of perception. On the flip side, MVA has come across as a formidable opposition, even though it actually didn’t fight the polls as one unit. These were the first polls in Maharashtra after the Gen Z-led protests on paper leaks, ‘vote chori’ and the MPSC exam irregularities. Congress’s win in Nagpur helped the party avoid scoring a zero and also made a dent nationally for BJP. “The [BJP] leadership, which forgets the prestige of the PM’s position and behaves like a ‘penny-pinching street urchin’, has been given a resounding slap on the wrist by the people of Nagpur through their verdict! NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule expressed her gratitude to both voters and grassroots workers of MVA.