In a significant political upset, voters in Loha town of Maharashtra's Nanded district delivered a sharp rebuke to dynastic politics by defeating a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and five of his family members in the recent municipal council elections. The Congress party was quick to label the outcome as a clear rejection of the BJP's 'parivarvad' or nepotism, a charge often levelled by the saffron party against its rivals.
A Family Affair Meets Voter's Fury
The controversy centered around BJP candidate Gajanan Suryawanshi, who was fielded for the mayoral post of Loha Municipal Council. In a move that drew widespread criticism, the party also nominated five of Suryawanshi's close relatives across different wards of the town. The candidates included his wife Godavari, brother Sachin Suryawanshi, sister-in-law Supriya Suryavanshi, brother-in-law Yuvraj Waghmare, and his nephew's wife Reena Vyavahare.
Despite facing accusations of dynastic politics from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, the BJP refused to ask any of these candidates to withdraw from the electoral fray. This decision ultimately proved costly as all six family members faced defeat at the hands of the electorate on Sunday, December 22, 2025.
Congress Seizes the Moment, Calls it a Setback for Chavan
The Congress party immediately capitalized on the results to attack the BJP's political strategy. Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari stated that voters had decisively rejected the BJP's nepotism. "No matter who it fielded for campaigning, the voters did not care. They gave the BJP a taste of its own medicine," Tiwari said.
He further emphasized the irony, noting, "The BJP has been accusing Congress of playing dynastic politics. It played the parivarvad card in Nanded, brazenly and blatantly. But the people of Loha have rejected the BJP in a big way." The defeat is also being viewed as a political setback for former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, who had led the BJP's campaign for these civic polls.
Triangular Contest and the Final Outcome
Loha, considered a bastion of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Pratap Patil Chikhlikar, witnessed a triangular contest between the BJP, the NCP, and the Congress. In the end, the post of Loha Municipal Council President was won by Sharad Pawar, a candidate belonging to the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP.
The resounding defeat of the six family-linked candidates underscores a growing voter sensitivity to concentrated family power in local politics. This incident in Loha serves as a potent reminder that electoral fortunes cannot be taken for granted, and that claims of anti-dynastic politics must be matched by action to resonate with the public.
