Naigaon Election Result: BJP's Rajesh Sambhajirao Pawar Wins

Rajesh Sambhajirao Pawar of BJP retains the Naigaon assembly constituency of Maharashtra with 1,29,192 votes. He won the seat by defeating Indian National Congress’ Dr Meenal Patil Khatgaonkar, and Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi with a margin of 47,629 votes. Pawar won the seat during the last election with the margin of 54,384 votes.

This assembly polls mark first one in the state after Shiv Sena and NCP split in 2022, and 2023 respectively. During the Legislative Assembly election of Maharashtra in 2019, the state had recorded a 61.4% voter turnout, and NDA alliance, which include BJP, and Shiv Sena won the election.

The 288 assembly seats in the State went to polls in a single phase on November 20 and 66.05% voter turnout was recorded. Among the seats, 234 belongs to general constituencies, 29 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), and 25 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).

The ruling Mahayuti consists of the BJP, the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena, and the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The opposition, the INDIA bloc’s MVA or the Maha Vikas Aghadi, has the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), or SS (UBT) led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray, the NCP (SP) faction led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress.

The BJP has fielded 149 candidates, Shiv Sena (Shinde) 81, and NCP (Ajit Pawar) 59. In the opposition, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (Sharad Pawar) 86.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, the undivided Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, the Shiv Sena and the Congress garnered 63, and 42 seats, respectively.