Sun Nov 24 07:17:49 UTC 2024: ## Congress Retains Nanded Lok Sabha Seat in Close Contest
**Nanded, Maharashtra:** The Congress party has secured a narrow victory in the Nanded Lok Sabha by-election, defeating the BJP by a mere 1,457 votes. Congress candidate Ravindra Chavan overcame a significant initial deficit, trailing BJP’s Santukrao Hambardhe by 35,000 votes at one point. However, a dramatic turnaround in the final rounds saw Chavan clinch the seat with 586,788 votes to Hambardhe’s 585,331.
The by-election was necessitated by the untimely demise of Vasantrao Chavan, Ravindra Chavan’s father and the previous Congress MP for the constituency. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi finished a distant third.
The result is noteworthy given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing BJP workers in Delhi following the Maharashtra Assembly election results, mistakenly claimed a BJP victory in Nanded, increasing their Lok Sabha seat count to 10. The Election Commission website later confirmed the Congress win. Interestingly, the Congress victory comes despite the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) winning both Nanded North and Nanded South assembly segments that constitute the Lok Sabha constituency.
This by-election result adds another layer to the complex political dynamics in Maharashtra, where the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had won a significant majority of Lok Sabha seats in the previous general election, with Congress emerging as the largest party. The BJP-led Maha Yuti alliance had secured far fewer seats. The Congress victory in Nanded, however, indicates the continuing volatility and competitiveness of the political landscape.
First Piper 