Swarupanand Deshmukh (left) defeated Ashwini Deshmukh, the widow slain sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh (Express photo and file photo by Deepak Joshi). In a major political upset in the Beed district of Maharashtra, Ashwini Deshmukh, the widow of slain sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, lost the bypoll for the Massajog village sarpanch post Wednesday. Despite an expected sympathy wave following her husband’s brutal murder, she was defeated by Swarupanand Deshmukh by 92 votes in a close contest. The counting of votes, which began at 10 am, saw a fluctuating battle for dominance. Swarupanand took an early lead, but Ashwini surged ahead in the second round. However, the momentum shifted back to Swarupanand in the final rounds, who eventually secured the win. The Massajog village has 2,084 registered voters, of whom 1,744 cast their votes in the poll held Tuesday, for an 84 per cent voter turnout. Following the result, Swarupanand said, “Despite the allegations made against me, the village residents stood by me.…