BJP retaining the Chinchwad Assembly seat with a good margin of 36,000 votes comes as a big blow to Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which was eyeing a comeback to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) where it ruled for 15 years. With civic elections likely in a couple of months time, BJP says victory will infuse new life into the party rank and file for the upcoming polls. "By winning the Chinchwad seat, we were hoping to create a positive atmosphere in our favour across the industrial city. But the result are a dampner despite all effort," Pimpri-Chinchwad NCP president Ajit Gavahane told The Indian Express, minutes after party candidate Nana Kate was defeated by BJP candidate Ashwini Jagtap in the Chinchwad bypoll, which was necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA Laxman Jagtap. Despite the loss, NCP said it was a morale booster for them. "BJP used all money and muscle power to retain the seat, using all dubious means. However, we put up a good fight, with our candidate securing nearly one lakh votes across the constituency which is an achievement, as the same candidate had managed around 40,000 votes in 2014. This means his stock has gone up by 60,000 votes," said Gavahane. NCP said BJP's might have won, but compared to 2019 elections, its candidate has secured less number of votes. "The BJP candidate got 15,000 votes less as compared with 2019 elections, which shows that the party's stock has tumbled," said Gavahane. Gavahane said the presence of Rahul Kalate, the independent candidate, proved decisive in Ashwini Jagtap's win and NCP candidate's loss. "If we combine the votes Kate and Kalate, they leave Ashwini Jagtap far behind. Kalate is a Shiv Sena leader. Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena is an MVA constituent. We all tried to get Kalate to withdraw from the race but he refused, which led to our candidate's defeat. Had we managed to field one candidate, victory undoubtedly would have been ours," said Gavahane. NCP ruled Pimpri-Chinchwad for 15 years until it was ousted in 2017 when BJP stormed to power. In a landslide victory, 77 BJP candidates became corporators. Since then, NCP has been strategising to come back to power by claiming credit for the all-round development of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Ajit Pawar has often spoken about his disappointment after losing power in PCMC. "We developed Pimpri-Chinchwad, yet we lost it. We need to put in immense effort to regain power," he has been telling NCP workers and leaders at every rally. "Although the Chinchwad loss pinches, the number of votes our candidate got gives us every reason to believe we will do well in ensuing civic elections," said Gavahane. The BJP camp is esctatic over the victory. Mahesh Landge, president of Pimpri-Chinchwad BJP, said the victory was a forgone conclusion. "We were looking at the margin of victory, which was not up to our expectations. Maybe because of low voter turn out, and the independent candidate ate into our votes. Anways, this victory will have a ripple effect on civic elections, with the atmosphere very much in favour of BJP. We had a decisive win in 2017, and are now geared for it," he said.
