Kin shine: Mukta Tilak’s son, Girish Bapat’s daughter-in-law secure wins in Maharashtra civic polls

KOLHAPUR/PUNE: A significant number of candidates related to politicians, both sitting and former elected representatives, have secured victories in the municipal corporation elections, indicating that voters did not treat political nepotism as a significant concern at the ballot box.In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, minister Sanjay Shirsat's son and daughter won their respective seats. MLA Pradeep Jaiswal's son, Rushikesh, won on a Shiv Sena ticket, while former MP Chandrakant Khaire's nephew, Sachin, also emerged victorious. In a jolt to Shiv Sena (UBT) member Ambadas Danve, his brother Rajendra lost the contest. In Kolhapur, Shiv Sena MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar's son, Ruturaj, won with nearly 9,000 votes in his debut election. "I worked under my father's guidance for the past seven years. I believe people voted for me based on my work," Ruturaj said.Satyajeet Jadhav, son of former MLAs late Chandrakant Jadhav and Jayashri Jadhav, also emerged victorious. In Sangli, Harshwardhan Patil (23) — son of former Union minister Pratik Patil and great-grandson of former CM Vasantdada Patil — secured victory by defeating BJP candidate Manoj Sargar with a margin of 1,526 votes. A fourth-generation member of the political family, Harshwardhan holds an MS in operations and supply chain management from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu's son, Ankit, and former MP Vinayak Raut's son, Gitesh, won their respective seats. The voters were, however, not kind to former minister Nawab Malik's brother, Kaptan, former MP Rahul Shewale's sister-in-law Vaishali and Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Waikar's daughter Dipti, who lost the election in their respective seats.Despite BJP's announcement that it would not offer tickets to relatives of sitting representatives and ministers, the party fielded Nashik MLA Seema Hirey's brother-in-law Yogesh, but he lost. Nupur, daughter of BJP state spokesperson Laxman Savaji, was also defeated. The party largely nominated relatives of former representatives in Nashik. Among them, Deepali Gite — wife of former NMC standing committee chairman Ganesh Gite — won, as did Sandhya Kulkarni, daughter of former mayor Satish Kulkarni, and Aditi Pande, daughter-in-law of former mayor Vinayak Pande.In Pune, Swarada Bapat — daughter-in-law of late minister Girish Bapat — retained the family's base in Kasba Peth. Son of former mayor late Mukta Tilak, Kunal, also entered city politics with a win. Swarada said, "I am proud to continue the legacy of my family. It is nothing but faith restored by people in us. I will strive to work hard for the people of the city."First-time contestants Surendra Pathare — son of NCP MLA Bapu Pathare — and his wife Aishwarya Pathare also won after joining BJP shortly before the elections. Addressing speculation about voter dissatisfaction over the last-minute switch, Surendra said their continuous grassroots work earned them the public's trust. "Our campaign focused on development. People trusted our vision and we will work to fulfil our promises," he said.In Pimpri Chinchwad, Vishwajit Barne — son of three-time MP Srirang Barne — won his debut election. "Although I contested an election for the first time, I actively worked in the area for the last few years. Of course, my father's popularity and his work helped me secure this victory. I will certainly work for the people to prove that they chose the right candidate," he said.Siddhartha Bansode, son of three-time MLA and former deputy speaker of the legislative assembly, secured a win in Pimpri. Viraj Lande, nephew of former Bhosari MLA Vilas Lande, also claimed his first electoral victory. Anuradha Gorkhe, mother of MLC Amit Gorkhe, won with a comfortable margin.(With inputs from Tushar Pawar & Mohammad Akhef)