NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole is leading against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Avinash Brahmankar by a narrow margin of 469 votes as of 2 PM from Sakoli.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Patole has secured 47,001 votes, while Brahmankar has received 46,532 votes as of 2 PM on counting day, November 23.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has fielded Nana Patole, who is contesting for a third term from the Sakoli Assembly constituency in Bhandara district, one of the high-profile seats in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. The BJP, on the other hand, has introduced a newcomer to electoral politics, Avinash Brahmankar, to compete against the veteran Nana Patole. During his campaign, Brahmankar was projected as the “real son of the soil” from Sakoli, emphasizing his connection to regional issues and portraying him as an “everyman.”
Nana Falgunrao Patole, hailing from a farming family in Sukli village, has been an advocate for the farming and OBC communities in Vidarbha. He first entered politics with the Congress in 1990 but later joined the BJP, winning the Sakoli seat in 2009 for the first time. He won the Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat in 2014 from BJP ticket, defeating former Union minister Praful Pate.
In 2017, Patole parted ways with the BJP over farmers’ issues, returning to the Congress, where he was eventually appointed Maharashtra state president.
As many as 13 candidates are contesting the Sakoli seat in the 2024 Assembly elections, adding to the competitive landscape.
In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 105 seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena won 56 seats. Congress and NCP secured 44 and 54 seats, respectively.
Voting for the Maharashtra Assembly elections was held in a single phase on November 20, and counting for all 288 constituencies is taking place on November 23. The results will determine the outcome of the long-standing battle between two key alliances: the ruling Mahayuti (BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP) and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Shiv Sena UBT, and NCP-SP).