Maharashtra Election Results: Eknath Shinde Wins From His Bastion Kopri-Pachpakhadi With Over 1.2 Lakh Votes

The Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat witnessed the clash of Titans with Shiv Sena pitching Chief Minister Eknath Shinde while Uddhav Thackeray's camp pitching Kedar Dighe, nephew of prominent leader Anand Dighe

File photo of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Source : PTI

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has won from his bastion, the Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly seat, against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Kedar Dighe by a margin of over 1.2 lakh votes. 

Retaining his bastion in the Thane district, Shinde received 1,59,060 votes, while Dighe got 38,343 votes, leading the Maharashtra CM to win by a margin of 1,20,717. The final results are yet to be announced by the Election Commission. The Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat in Thane witnessed a high-stakes contest in Maharashtra between the rival Shiv Sena factions in the assembly election.

The seat witnessed a clash of titans with Shiv Sena pitching Chief Minister Eknath Shinde while Uddhav Thackeray's camp pitching Kedar Dighe, nephew of prominent leader Anand Dighe.

While Eknath Shinde claims to be the "true follower" of late Sena strongman Anand Dighe, Dighe's nephew also projects himself as the torchbearer of his uncle's legacy.

Thane is considered the bastion of Shinde's Shiv Sena after Mumbai. It was the first city in Maharashtra where the party had managed to win civic elections and got its first mayor.

Kopri-Pachpakhadi Seat Assembly Seat

The Kopri-Pachpakhadi is one of the 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra and is located in the Thane district, which is considered the bastion of Eknath Shinde. It recorded a turnout of 59.85% on November 20. 

Apart from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly seat, the Thane Lok Sabha constituency also includes five other assembly segments, including Mira Bhayander, Ovala-Majiwada, Thane, Airoli, and Belapur.

In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde won the Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat as the undivided Shiv Sena candidate getting over 65 per cent of the vote. Congress candidate Sanjay Ghadigaonkar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Mahesh Parshuram Kadam got over 13 per cent each. Shinde also won the seat in the 2014 assembly elections on the Shiv Sena ticket.

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