Shivaji Patil and Independent candidate Sharaddada Sonawane
Credit: Website/MyNeta and ECI
Mumbai: With just two Independent members getting elected into the Vidhan Sabha - it is a historic low in Maharashtra.
In the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, 2,086 Independent candidates were in fray - of which only two entered the new House.
In Junnar (Pune district), Sharaddada Sonawane defeated Satyasheel Sherkar of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) by a margin of 6,664 votes.
In Chandgad (Kolhapur district), Shivaji Patil defeated Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Rajesh Patil by 24,134 votes.
Some of the Independent candidate are strong rebels of the two political formations - Maha Yuti (NDA) comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
However, in the NDA sweep, the Independent candidates were wiped out.
The maximum Independent candidates were elected in 1995, when a large number of them supported the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP dispensation.
In 2019, as many as 13 Independents were elected but they changed sides.
INDEPENDENTS
YEAR CONTESTED WON
1962 437 15
1967 463 16
1972 343 23
1978 894 28
1980 612 10
1985 1,506 20
1990 2,286 13
1995 3,196 45
1999 837 12
2004 1,083 19
2009 1,820 24
2014 1,699 07
2019 1,400 13
2024 2,086 02
Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here
Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here
Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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