Reel star Raviraj Sabale draws 20,450 votes in Marathwada graduates' poll; MVA's Patil leads

The Marathwada Graduates' constituency results have thrown up a major upset. Satish Chavan, who has represented graduates for the past three terms, has been dealt a blow by graduate voters. Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate Pratapsingh Patil held the lead from the first round, and his victory is being seen as certain.

The most talked-about name in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates' constituency result was Raviraj Sabale, a farmer's son and reel star. By the end of the third round he had received 20,450 first-preference votes. After the result, Sabale gave his first reaction.

Two faces drew considerable attention in this year's Legislative Council teachers' and graduates' elections. One was Raviraj Sabale Patil, who has been aggressive on farming issues as a farmer's son. The other was Master Karale Guruji of Vidarbha. Both are very popular on social media, with followers running into lakhs. Though they may have received only a few thousand votes in the Council elections, they delivered a performance that rattled established candidates. Sabale's candidacy cost Mahayuti's Satish Chavan the Marathwada graduates' seat, going by what Sabale himself said after the result: "I have swallowed the established."

Sabale said, "I announced on September 24 that I would contest and campaigned for only 28 days. Graduates' constituency elections for the Legislative Council are a monopoly of the parties. I am not part of that monopoly, yet I stand third among the votes polled by candidates in the Marathwada graduates' constituency. Who wins will now be decided by the votes I have received. My second-preference votes are the future of two candidates. I have swallowed an established player and ended an 18-year drought."

Now the numbers. By the end of the third round, the quota needed to win had been fixed. According to it, 88,558 votes are needed for victory. In the third round, Maha Vikas Aghadi's Dr Pratapsingh Patil received 73,931 votes, while Mahayuti's Satish Chavan received 60,768. Patil was thus ahead by about 13,000 votes. Independent candidate Raviraj Sabale gave a strong fight in third place with 20,450 votes. Dilip Ghuge, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate, got only 8,439 votes.

By the end of the third round, the total votes counted stood at 1,77,115 and invalid votes at 16,540, while total valid votes were put at 1,93,655.