Despite fights with ally BJP, Sattar manages to down Shiv Sena (UBT) and retain Sillod

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nov 24 (PTI) Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Abdul Sattar's victory in Sillod assembly seat, albeit by a margin of just 2420 votes, is being seen as a remarkable feat as he was fighting not just the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) but also ally BJP.

The feud with the BJP worsened after senior leader Raosaheb Danve's shock defeat in the Lok Sabha polls from Jalna, with party functionaries openly claiming Sattar played a role in it.

Danve and Sattar gave statements against each other after the LS polls and in the run up to the assembly elections.

In a rally in Sillod for his party candidate Suresh Bankar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had called Sattar a "blot on the region" and had openly asked the BJP to come forward to unseat him.

Sattar, in a seesaw battle, defeated Bankar by 2420 votes in the November 20 polls, results of which were declared on Saturday.

Sillod saw a voter turnout of almost 80 per cent.

Sattar won the seat in 2009 and 2014 on a Congress ticket before shifting to the (undivided) Shiv Sena and retaining it in 2019.

He allied with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after the latter led a rebellion in June 2022 and brought down the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi. PTI AW BNM