Mumbai: The BJP's decision to replace six sitting MPs in Maharashtra for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls paid off handsomely as all six won with comfortable margins.
The sitting MPs replaced were veterans A T Nana Patil from Jalgaon, Dilip Gandhi from Ahmednagar, Harishchandra Chavan in Dindori and first time MPs Anil Shirole from Pune, Sharad Bandsode in Solapur and Sunil Gaikwad from Latur.
Unmesh Patil, the BJP nominee in Jalgaon defeated his NCP rival and former state minister Gulabrao Deokar by a margin of 4,11,617 votes.
In Dindori, Bharati Pawar won by a margin of 1,98,779 votes over her NCP rival Dhanraj Mahale. Pawar, then with the NCP, had contested unsuccessfully against sitting BJP MP Harishchandra Chavan in 2014.
BJP replaced five time MP Dilip Gandhi in Ahmednagar and gave a ticket to Sujay Vikhe patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. He romped home by a margin of 2,81,474 votes over his NCP rival Sangram Jagtap.
The party nominated senior leader and state minister Girish Bapat in Pune replacing sitting MP Anil Shirole, the move paying off with the former winning by 3,24,628 votes.
In Latur, the BJP replaced Sunil Gaikwad with Sudhakar Shrangare who won with a margin of 2,89,111 votes.
While in Solapur, the BJP replaced sitting MP Sharad Bandsode with Lingayat spiritual leader Jaisiddeshwar Swami who defeated former Union minister and senior Congressman Sushilkumar Shinde by a margin of 1,58,608 votes.
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