Slain leader's wife defeated in Massajog sarpanch bypoll in Maharashtra

Slain sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's wife on Wednesday suffered defeat in the byelection for the post of sarpanch at Massajog village in Maharashtra's Beed district. The bypoll, necessitated following the murder of then sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh on December 9, 2024, was held on Tuesday. His wife, Ashwini Deshmukh, contested the election, banking on a sympathy wave. Counting of votes was taken up on Wednesday morning at the Kaij tehsil office. Returning Officer Santosh Karajwankar later announced that Swarupanand Deshmukh defeated the late sarpanch's wife by a margin of 92 votes. The winning candidate later said, ''This is a victory of development. This is a victory for the poor and the marginalised. While we have won this election, our commitment to seeking justice for the late Santosh Deshmukh remains unchanged. We will stand firm in ensuring the culprits are held accountable.'' In the last sarpanch election, Santosh Deshmukh had defeated Swarupanand Deshmukh by a margin of just 9 votes. Santosh Deshmukh was murdered brutally in December 2024 after he tried to stop an attempt to extort money from a wind power firm. Walmik Karad, a close aide of then minister Dhananjay Munde, was arrested in the case, leading to Munde's resignation from the Maharashtra cabinet.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)