Bahujan Vikas Aghadi’s Kshitij Thakur won the Nalasopara seat with a margin over 40,000 votes, as the Thakur family managed to retain its bastion.
Kshitij, Hitendra Thakur’s son, got the ticket after the senior Thakur chose not to contest. Kshitij, 26, managed 89, 284 votes, while his rival Shiv Sena candidate Shirish Chavan could get only 48,502 votes. MNS aspirant Vivek Keluskar got 20,749 votes.
Before the election, the Thakur family was at the receiving end of public ire. Villagers were irate over the controversial issue of inducting 53 villages into the jurisdiction of the newly-formed Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC). Sensing the public mood, Hitendra Thakur decided not to contest and propped his son Kshitij. This thoughtful move stymied anti-incumbency in the pocket.
