By Tejas
Pune, November 21, 2024: As Maharashtra witnessed a significant voter turnout of 65% in the assembly elections yesterday, November 20, an unexpected twist in the Khadakwasla constituency captured everyone’s attention. Even before the official results are announced, supporters of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) candidate Sachin Dodke flooded the constituency with congratulatory banners and held a victory rally, exuding confidence about Dodke’s win.
The celebratory banners, emblazoned with Dodke’s image, appeared across Khadakwasla within hours of the polling process concluding. The supporters’ exuberance did not stop there, as they also organised a full-fledged rally in the constituency, projecting Dodke as the victor despite the counting of votes still being days away.
In the 2019 assembly constituency election, Sachin Dodke was defeated by a margin of just 2,500 votes. However, this time, Dodke took extra lead in the campaign after his name was announced by the party in the initial lists. However, he also reached the voters of the constituency through various campaigns and padyatras in the assembly.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Tapkir, despite a delayed ticket announcement, banked on his political experience, development initiatives, and the BJP’s strong showing in the recent Lok Sabha elections. While the MNS candidate, Mayuresh Wanjale, has focused on leveraging the goodwill and sympathy associated with his late father, former MLA Ramesh Wanjale.
However, the celebration by Dodke’s supporters has captured everyone’s attention on social media. Political observers have drawn parallels to 2019, when similar victory banners were put up by Dodke’s camp before the results only for him to lose by a slim margin to Tapkir. However, it will be interesting to see whether Dodke will be able to win this year or not.
