NCP nominee declared "winner" by supporters before vote count

Though official results of the Maharashtra assembly are yet to be announced, supporters of the NCP candidate from the Khadakwasla seat here have put up hoardings "congratulating" him for his "victory".

The NCP candidate, Sachin Dodke, who is also a corporator, is pitted against sitting BJP MLA from Khadakwasla Bhimrao Tapkir.

The hoardings were put up in Warje-Malwadi, the ward Dodke represents in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), a few hours after voting for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra concluded at 6 pm.

One of the hoardings read - "Heartiest congratulations to Sachin Dodke for becoming MLA from Khadakwasla".

This is not the first time that such congratulatory hoardings, declaring Dodke as the "winner" in an election before the counting of votes, have come up in the area.

Similar hoardings had come up a day before the results of the PMC polls were announced in 2017. Dodke had won the civic polls from Warje-Malwadi then.

A procession was carried out by Dodge's supporters and firecrackers were burst on Monday evening, two days before the counting of votes polled in the assembly polls.

"I am not overconfident but it is the people and well -wishers who have faith and confidence in me, and they have erected the congratulatory flexes in the area declaring me the winner," he said.

The NCP candidate sounded confident about winning the assembly seat.

"Our entire campaign in Khadakwasla was based on local development issues and the people from the constituency are with me," Dodke said.