Jayant Patil says similarity in poll symbols led to NCP (SP)'s defeat in Satara

Jayant Patil the Maharashtra NCP SP chairman said that the similarity between his partys election emblem and that of an independent candidate confused voters resulting in the NCP SP candidates defeat in the Satara Lok Sabha constituencyPatil speaking to the media on Wednesday claimed that the Election Commission of India ECI purposely assigned similar emblems to independent candidates in order to split votes He added that his party would bring up this issue with the ECI reported PTIFollowing a split in Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress Party the ECI allocated the poll symbol man blowing turha a traditional trumpet to the NCP SP On Tuesday Udayanraje Bhonsle of the BJP defeated NCP SP candidate Shashikant Shinde by more than 32000 votes in the Satara Lok Sabha seat Independent candidate Sanjay Gade who used the poll symbol tutari trumpet garnered 37062 votesPatil pointed out that the NCP SP had earlier lodged a complaint with the ECI against a similar sign provided to an independent candidate in Baramati their strongholdIn the Marathi list of Satara candidates the independent candidates symbol was tutari whereas in the English list it was trumpet The NCP SP candidates symbol was characterised as tutari wajnavar manoos in Marathi and man blowing turha in EnglishOur symbol was man blowing tutari but at the same time the trumpet symbol was also given to independent candidates and it was called tutari in the list As a result in all the constituencies where the NCP SP contested a considerable number of votes went to candidates having the trumpet symbol Patil claimedHe pointed out that in constituencies like Dindori Madha and Beed independent candidates with the trumpet symbol received substantial votesmdashover 1 lakh 48000 and 54000 votes respectivelymdashimpacting the NCP SPs performance in Lok Sabha Elections 2024In Dindori the candidate having the trumpet symbol received more than 1 lakh votes In Satara our candidate got defeated by 32000 votes and at the same time the candidate with the trumpet symbol polled more than 37000 votes he saidPatil emphasised that this confusion was evident in Satara where the NCP SP candidate lost by 32000 votes while the independent candidate with the trumpet symbol garnered more than 37000 votesThe similarity in the symbol name created confusion among voters We had taken objection before the elections and raised the issue with the ECI but it paid no heed It seems this symbol was allotted deliberately for the division of votes Patil alleged He concluded by stating that the party would present their case to the ECI on this matterBaramati Battle Supriya Sule wins Lok Sabha Elections 2024 from constituencyNationalist Congress Party SP candidate Supriya Sule retained her Baramati seat in Lok Sabha Elections 2024 by more than 15 lakh votes defeating her sisterinlaw Sunetra Pawar in a highlywatched contest Ajit Pawar who split the party last year is known for his strong following in Baramati making Sules victory significantI am thankful to the people of Baramati After this victory our collective responsibilities have increased Let bygones be bygones What happened during the Lok Sabha elections 2024 did not reflect well on Maharashtras politics and should be avoided in the upcoming state elections Sule saidIt was everyones responsibility to uphold the aan baan shaan honour pride and prestige and culture of Maharashtra during elections she added expressing commitment to maintaining this tradition in future elections