Kolhapur Municipal Elections Witness Dramatic Close Finishes
The recently concluded Kolhapur Municipal Corporation elections delivered surprising outcomes. Seventeen candidates experienced defeat by extremely narrow margins. In multiple instances, the number of votes cast for NOTA actually exceeded the victory margin of the winning candidate.
Key Contests with Razor-Thin Margins
Congress candidate Saroj Sarnaik from Ward 5 secured 7,148 votes. She lost to BJP's Pallavi Desai by a mere 16 votes. Interestingly, NOTA received 325 votes in this ward. Officials conducted a vote recount following an objection from Sarnaik's team. Ultimately, they declared Desai the winner.
In Ward 19A, BJP's Rahul Chikkode faced defeat. He is a close aide of minister Chandrakant Patil. Chikkode lost by 41 votes while NOTA garnered 290 votes.
Congress candidate Deepa Magdum contested from Ward 10C. She lost by 163 votes. NOTA received 355 votes in that ward.
NCP candidate Prema Dawari from Ward 14A lost by 199 votes. NOTA achieved a significant 901 votes here.
Notable Victories Across Wards
BJP candidate Madhavi Patil emerged as a clear winner from Ward 9B. She received the highest number of votes at 13,157. Patil defeated Congress candidate Pallavi Bolaikar, who got 5,486 votes, by a substantial margin of 7,671 votes.
A young NCP candidate, Manasi Lolage, won from Ward 19B. The 23-year-old lawyer contested on an NCP ticket. This ward is reserved for backward class women. Lolage secured 7,392 votes to defeat Congress's Shubhangi Powar, who received 6,417 votes.
Former corporator Subhash Buchade will become the oldest corporator in KMC. The 63-year-old contested from Ward 1A on a Congress ticket. Buchade received 10,408 votes, defeating Shiv Sena candidate Amar Sathe, who got 7,307 votes.
Other Significant Election Outcomes
Congress candidate Geetanjali Hawaldar campaigned actively while eight months pregnant. She contested from Ward 18B. Hawaldar received 5,315 votes but lost by 1,100 votes to Shiv Sena's Kousar Bagwan, who bagged 6,415 votes.
The Election Commission seized deposit amounts from 147 candidates. These candidates received fewer votes. As per rules, the deposit of defeated candidates is forfeited if they get less than one-sixth of the total valid votes in their ward. This deposit requirement ensures only serious candidates participate in the electoral process.
Political Fallout and Resignation
Shiv Sena (UBT) city president Sunil Modi resigned from his party position on Friday. This followed his party's poor performance in the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) had formed an alliance with Congress. They contested six seats, winning only one through Pratidnya Utture in Ward 15B.
Sunil Modi explained his resignation. He stated, "The party suffered from internal factionalism, lack of coordination, and organisational neglect at the local level. I repeatedly informed senior functionaries about these issues, but little action followed. I resigned because Shiv Sena's culture emphasizes taking political responsibility and making decisive moves, not offering explanations while holding office. I will continue working for the party as an ordinary Shiv Sena (UBT) worker."
Voter Confusion Over Four-Ward Structure
The four-ward structure created significant confusion among voters. Many voters, particularly elderly women, remained unclear about how to cast votes for four different candidates. Several voters chose their ward candidate and then selected NOTA for the other three positions in the four-ward structure. This voting pattern substantially impacted the final calculations and outcomes.
