PUNE: MVA's confidence about forming govt in Maharashtra in the run-up to the assembly polls was crushed by the Mahayuti juggernaut, with the opposition alliance candidates finishing third in 29 of the 288 seats it contested. Of the 29 seats, 17 candidates of Sena (UBT) ended up in the third position, and one in fourth. Though a close contest was expected, it turned out to be a one-sided result as MVA - comprising Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) - was decimated to 46 seats by Mahayuti that reaped a rich harvest of 230 seats in the 288-member House.
IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who got whom IPL 2025 Auction: Updated Full Team Squads For Mahayuti, BJP led the show with 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (57) and NCP (41). For MVA, Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20, Congress 16, and NCP (SP) 10 seats. Though Thackeray's party won the maximum seats among the MVA partners, 18 of its candidates failed to secure the second position.
Its candidate from Nandgaon in Nashik district, Ganesh Dhatrak, finished fourth. Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's Suhas Kande won the seat. Even an independent, Rohan Borse, was ahead of Dhatrak, finishing third.
Among the other seats, Sena (UBT)'s pick from Airoli, Manohar Madhavi, finished third. He was in a direct fight with BJP's Ganesh Naik, who emerged the winner. In Kalyan Rural, Thackeray's candidate, Subhash Bhoir, finished third against Sena's Rajesh More.
MNS's Pramod Patil was the runner-up. Congress candidates finished third in Warora, Va.
