Live : Solapur Assembly Election 2019

In the 2014 general elections, Sharad Bansode of the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP won the Solapur Lok Sabha constituency, a reserved seat for scheduled caste candidates, with a margin of 1,49,674 votes. Mr Bonsode bagged 5,17,879 votes, while Sushilkumar Shinde of the Congress polled 3,68,205 votes.

In 2019, Sushilkumar Shinde (who had won general elections from this constituency in 1998, 1999 and 2009), is pitted against Lingayat seer Jaisiddeshwar Swami of the BJP and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's Prakash Ambedkar (who is also contesting from Akola). The constituency which went to polls on April 18.

Mr Shinde, a former Union Home Minister, is making his fourth bid for the Lok Sabha from his home turf, while the BJP's Mahaswami Siddheshwar is hoping to sail on the huge chunk of around 3.60 lakh Lingayat votes.

At 51.98 per cent, Solapur Lok Sabha constituency recorded the lowest voter turnout in Maharashtra during the second phase of general elections in 2019.

Solapur, which is famed for its textiles industries, has 17,02,754 voters including 8,93,736 males and 8,09,019 females.

The Solapur Lok Sabha constituency comprises of six assembly segments: Solapur South (BJP), Solapur City North (BJP), Solapur City Central (Congress), Pandharpur (Congress), Mohol (NCP) and Akkalkot (Congress).