Shivaji's descendant Udayanraje Bhosale puts up brave face post loss

After facing a shocking defeat in the Satara Lok Sabha by-poll in Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Udayanraje Bhosale on Friday said that he has lost the election but is not "finished" yet. Bhosale tasted defeat at the hands of Nationalist Congress Party leader Shriniwas Patil in the Western Maharashtra seat. He is a direct descendant of the 17th century Maratha king and founder of the Maratha empire Chhatrapati Shivaji.

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Twitter message

"Have lost today, but haven't stopped. Haven't won, but also not finished," Udayanraje Bhosale tweeted in Marathi. Bhosale thanked his party workers and the people who voted for him in the October 21 by-poll election. He has been a Member of Parliament multiple times from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Bhosale secured 5,48,903 votes, while rival Patil garnered 6,36,620 votes.

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The by-election in Satara was necessitated after sitting MP Udayanraje Bhosale's quit the NCP and shifted to the ruling party. Udayanraje Bhosale had jumped ships and had joined the BJP in September, months after getting elected to Parliament from Satara in the Lok Sabha elections. He had seemed like a worthy addition to the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance at the time. The winner, Shriniwas Patil, is a popular orator in the region. Satara constituency is a bastion of the NCP and the party fought hard to retain its stronghold.

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CM Fadnavis 'shocked'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed distress over the results on Thursday. "Two results are shocking for us – by-poll for Satara Lok Sabha constituency and Parli Assembly constituency. Our six ministers have lost, we will find out reasons tomorrow onward. Today's the day to celebrate our victory and let us do that," said Fadnavis, who now finds himself at a tough spot after the Opposition's stealth resurgence in the polls and ally Shiv Sena's greater leverage over the BJP. The Mahayuti alliance has won 162 seats.

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(With PTI inputs)