Eight BJP-Shiv Sena ministers humbled in Maharashtra

 In a big stunner, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena saw as many as eight ministers - five and three, respectively - lose the Maharashtra Assembly elections as per the poll results announced on Thursday.

The biggest loss was the defeat of the high-profile Pankaja Munde from Parli (Beed district) which was her family bastion. She was trounced by her estranged cousin and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)'s Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde.

The other losing ministers from the BJP include Anil Bonde from Morshi (Amravati district), Ram Shinde who was vanquished by NCP President Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Rohit Pawar in his maiden election from Karjat-Jamkhed (Ahmednagar), Sanjay 'Bala' Bhegade from Maval (Pune), and Parinay Fuke from Sakoli (Nagpur) who was trounced by Congress' strongman Nana F. Patole.

The Sena ministers who were defeated are Vijaybapu Shivtare from Purandar (Pune district), Arjun Khotkar from Jalna and Jaydatta Kshirsagar from Beed.

A majority of these ministers had faced some or the scam allegations leveled by the Opposition parties in the past five years.IANS