India, Feb. 11 -- Despite a strong following on social media, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Nirmala Navale was defeated in the Pune district Panchayat Samiti elections, raising questions about whether online popularity translates into electoral success.

Navale, sarpanch of Karegaon in Shirur taluka, has around 5.75 lakh followers across platforms. A former IT professional, she entered politics after quitting her corporate career and serves as Maharashtra Yuvati president of the NCP. She contested the Karegaon Panchayat Samiti seat but lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate by 314 votes, despite the NCP's overall strong performance in the district.

Reacting to her defeat, Navale said she respected the verdict of ...