Following the Lok Sabha election outcomes, all political parties have geared up to tally the wins and losses of contested seats. Among them, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar is scrutinizing a set-back received in the Satara constituency. Currently, they are contemplating an approach to the Election Commission. Alleging that the allocation of a similar symbol to an independent candidate led to voter confusion resulting in the defeat of their candidate on this seat, they also have concerns on several other constituencies regarding the election symbol dispute.
Indeed, the descendent of Shivaji Maharaj, Udayanraje Pratapsingh Bhosale, secured a triumphant victory for the BJP with a substantial margin of 32,771 votes over the NCP's (Sharad Pawar faction) Shashikant Jaywantrao Shinde. Bhosale garnered 571,134 votes, while Shinde received 538,363 votes. As for the independent candidate whose election symbol sparked the contention, they acquired more than 37,000 votes. The Election Commission had allotted the 'trumpet' symbol to this independent candidate.
Source: aajtak
NCP gains a new symbol after Ajit's rebellion
Following Ajit Pawar's split from the party, the symbol and name issue led to the Election Commission, which eventually declared the Ajit Pawar faction as the legitimate NCP. Consequently, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP was assigned a new symbol 'Man Playing a Trumpet' by the Election Commission. Candidates of Sharad Pawar's faction contested this election using the new emblem. Meanwhile, in Satara, the independent candidate contested the election as such.
Jayant Patil, state president of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), claims that the similar looking election symbols led to their candidate's loss in Satara as voters were misled. In the Satara electoral district, independent candidate Sanjay Gadke received 37,062 votes on the 'trumpet' symbol. NCP's (SP) candidate Shashikant Shinde was defeated by BJP's Udayanraje Bhosale by 32,771 votes. "We will address this matter with the Election Commission," remarked Jayant Patil, the state president of NCP (SP).
Accusations of identical symbols being allocated in other seats
The party alleges that the allocation of identical election symbols led to narrow margins on various seats. Independent candidates bearing the 'trumpet' symbol received between 40,000 and 50,000 votes. Patil commented that in the Dindori Lok Sabha area, where their candidate was contesting against Union Minister Bharati Pawar, an identical symbol was given to another candidate with a last name similar to theirs. Independent Babu Bhagre, who contested on the 'trumpet' symbol, earned 103,632 votes. However, NCP (SP) candidate Bhaskar Bhagre was not affected by this and achieved a victory with a margin of 113,000 votes.
Patil further stated that in Beed, independent Ashok Thorat secured 54,850 votes using a similar symbol as NCP (SP). In this seat, NCP (SP)'s candidate Bajrang Sonawane emerged victorious against BJP's Pankaja Munde by a margin of 6,553 votes. The symbols were identical, causing voters' confusion. These independent candidates were not politically active and had withdrawn before the election. Voters mistakenly cast their votes for an independent thinking they were supporting NCP (SP). This is one reason why we lost the Satara Lok Sabha seat," concluded Patil.
