BJP's Rajendra Gavit wins the Palghar Lok Sabha seat. Big set back for Shiv Sena. After losing Kairana and Bhandara-Gondia constituencies, BJP down to 272 in Lower House, read our special report here.
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Palghar Lok Sabha By-Election Results 2018: BJP's Rajendra Gavit Wins The Seat
The bypoll results in Palghar, lying next to Mumbai and Thane, is considered to be a litmus test for the BJP, as well as the Shiv Sena, in western Maharashtra.
31 May, 13:15 (IST)
BJP's Rajendra Gavit going strong after 21 rounds of counting. He is all set to win Palghar Lok Sabha By-Election 2018.Â
31 May, 11:52 (IST)
The results after twelfth round in Palghar Lok Sabha constituency - BJP's Rajendra Gavit is leading with 19742 votes, currently, he bagged  134884 votes compared to Shiv Sena's Srinivas Vanaga who got 115142 votes.Â
31 May, 10:42 (IST)
BJP's Rajendra Gavit Extends lead at the Palghar Lok Sabha seat. The lead looks comfortable now, the final results are yet to be officially announced.
31 May, 09:40 (IST)
BJP's Rajendra Gavit consolidates the leads while Shiv Sena slips to the third position in Palghar. These results are shocking as the contest was set between BJP-Shivsena.
31 May, 09:12 (IST)
BJP's Rajendra Gavit gains lead after first round of counting. Shiv Sena's Srinivas Wanga is marginally behind.Â
31 May, 08:52 (IST)
Shiv Sena's Srinivas Wanga overtakes lead against BJP's Rajendra Gavit, in first trends BJP was leading in this constituency. This is going to be a tight contest between them.Â
31 May, 08:48 (IST)
The first trends from Palghar Lok Sabha By-Election show BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit is leading. EVM votes are yet to be counted.
31 May, 08:09 (IST)
Counting starts for Palghar Lok Sabha By-Elections, the results and first trends are expected to come out soon. The Contest is between Shiv Sena's Srinivas Wanga and BJP's Rajendra Gavit.Â
31 May, 07:57 (IST)
The counting of votes for Palghar By-Election 2018 to begin shortly. BJP and Shiv Sena have locked horns in this Lok Sabha constituency. Â
Palghar, May 31: The results of bypoll in the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency will be declared today by the Election Commission. The counting of votes is currently underway. The by-election for the seat witnessed a battle of prestige between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Stay tuned above for the live news and updates.
The bypolls, held on May 28, witnessed 53 per cent polling. The voting was marred with wide-scale EVM glitches as election was disrupted in over 100 booths due to the malfunctioning voting machines.
The Shiv Sena had filed a written complaint to the State Election Commission, alleging foul play by the ruling BJP. Apart from seeking an inquiry into the incident, the Sena demanded the EC to conduct future elections using the ballot paper.
Palghar By-Elections 2018: Factsheet
Last winner:Â BJP candidate Chintaman Wanga had emerged victorious from the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He had wrested the seat from Balram Jadhav of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi.
Reason for bypoll: Chintaman Wanga, the BJP MP from the seat, died  on January 30, 2018 at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The 67-year-old had suffered a cardiac arrest.
Candidates in Fray: Ahead of the bypolls, Shiv Sena dealt a blow to the BJP by nominating deceased Wanga's son Srinivas Wanga as its candidate. The BJP allotted the ticket to Rajendra Gavit, a Congress turncoat and ex-minister in erstwhile Maharashtra government. The Congress candidate from the seat is Damoo Shingada, whereas, the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi had nominated former M Balram Jadhav.
The bypoll results in Palghar, lying next to Mumbai and Thane, is considered to be a litmus test for the BJP, as well as the Shiv Sena, in western Maharashtra. A victory for Sena is likely to further embolden the Uddhav Thackeray-led party to walk out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2018 07:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).