Not a good election for turncoats — 60% candidates lose in Maharashtra, Haryana

Haryana voters more unforgiving to turncoats as 9 out of 14 candidates fielded by BJP lost. Maharashtra defectors had a better strike rate.

Former Congress MLA Nitesh Rane, fielded by the BJP in Maharashtra, won his seat | ThePrint

Chandigarh/Mumbai/New Delhi: Voters in Maharashtra and Haryana rejected nearly 60 per cent of the turncoats, with 30 of the 51 leaders who had switched political loyalties losing their seats.

Among the two states, these defectors had a better strike rate in Maharashtra. Of the 13 former Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders fielded by the BJP, 10 won.

Haryana voters were, however, unforgiving to these turncoats as nine out of 14 such candidates, fielded by the BJP, lost.

Poor show by defectors in Haryana

Apart from the BJP, the Congress too had fielded some turncoats. Out of the six defectors fielded by the Congress, only two were able to win their seats — Pradeep Chaudhari from Kalka and Surender Panwar from Sonepat (both from INLD). Dushyant Chautala’s Jannnayak Janata Party (JJP) fielded nine defectors, but only two of them were able to win their seats.

 

In Maharashtra turncoats do better for BJP than Sena

While defectors who joined the BJP did very well, those who joined the Shiv Sena didn’t have such luck. The Sena fielded nine candidates who had joined the party leaving the Congress and the NCP, but only two won.

Of the 13 defectors fielded by the BJP, nine were sitting legislators from the Congress and the NCP. 

Prominent defectors in Maharashtra

Former Congress leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and NCP’s Jaydatta Kshirsagar, both former ministers during the Congress-NCP rule, were one of the first senior opposition leaders to defect to the BJP and Shiv Sena, respectively. While Patil won from the Shirdi constituency, Kshirsagar lost from Beed.

The contest between former Congress MLA Nitesh Rane — son of former CM Narayan Rane — fielded by the BJP in Sindhudurg district’s Kankavli constituency and Shiv Sena’s Satish Sawant was keenly watched as this was the only seat where the allies fought against each other. Nitesh, an incumbent there, won the seat.

Prominent defectors in Haryana

Nadeem Ahmed, the former MLA from INLD who had contested on a BJP ticket from Ferozepur Jhirka, lost to Mamman Khan of Congress. Similarly, Satish Nandal, former INLD district president who was fielded by the BJP, was unable to win his seat, Garhi Sampla Kiloi against former Congress CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda.