Lok Sabha Elections 2019: NCP chief Sharad Pawar accepts defeat

Held in seven phases,  the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 for 542 of 543 constituencies concluded on May 19. Counting of votes are currently underway amidst tightened security arrangements. As per the current trends, the BJP-led NDA is heading towards thumping victory, while Congress-led UPA is likely to repeat 2014 performance. Talking about Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is leading on 41 seats out of 48, while Congress-NCP alliance is leading on 5 seats. In the meantime, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has accepted defeat. 

Talking to media, the NCP chief said, "I accept people's decision but this is also a fact that people had their doubts about EVMs. Congress had performed really well in Rajiv Gandhi's time, but nobody doubted elections then, same when Atal Bihari Vajpayee won." 

Notably, Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule is leading in Baramati. She is pitted against Kanchan Rahul Kul of BJP. On the other hand, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has managed to maintain his lead in Nagpur parliamentary constituency. BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan, who is pitted against Congress's Priya Dutt, is leading from Mumbai North Central parliamentary seat. Also, BJP's Gopal Shetty, who is up against Congress's Urmila Matondkar, is leading from Mumbai North constituency. 

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Congress heavy weight Sushilkumar Shinde, Sanjay Nirupam are trailing from Solapur and Mumbai North West respectively. Parth Pawar, the grand-nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, is also trailing from Maval Lok Sabha seat of Maharashtra. It is to be noted that Parth is a son of former state deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. NCP leader Sameer Bhujbal is leading from Nashik parliamentary seat. 

Importantly, Maharashtra went to polls in four phases in April. A total of 867 candidates were in the fray in the state. 

It is worth mentioning here that as far as Lok Sabha elections 2019 are concerned,  The BJP-led NDA under the leadership of Amit Shah is seeking a second term in the office. The Congress-led UPA under Sonia Gandhi's leadership is looking to make a comeback in power. 

In 2014, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 43 seats, the highest for any alliance so far. The Congress-NCP bonhomie managed to win only two seats. This time, it will be a challenge for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance to repeat the 2014 performance. 

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA won 336 seats of 543, while the UPA won 59 seats, 44 of which were won by the Congress.