Ruling Allies, BJP Win five Seats Each in Maharashtra Council Polls

Eleven candidates have been in the race for 10 seats in the Legislative Council, with MVA allies Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress fielding candidates each. The BJP nominated 5 candidates. 

Mumbai: Five candidates of Maharashtra’s ruling alliance and 5 of the BJP have been elected to the Legislative Council on Monday amid cross-voting by MLAs believed to be on the authorities side. 

• The contest for the tenth seat was a prestige struggle for the state’s ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi after the disappointed in the currently held Rajya Sabha election, in which the Shiv Sena candidate was defeated. Sachin Ahir and Amshya Padvi, the Shiv Sena candidates won. Also,  from Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party Eknath Khadse and Ramraje Nimbalkar won. 

• Shrikant Bharti, Praveen Darekar, Uma Khapre and Ram Shinde of Bhartiya Janta Party won too. BJP’s Prasad Lad additionally managed to drag off a win for the 5th seat with the cross-voting “I thank Devendra Fadnavis who made this warfare plan,” Mr Lad informed. Calling the outcomes a “defeat” for the MVA and the Shiv Sena, he stated it was the time for the MVA to “go take a seat down under a tree” as recommended by Sena’s Sanjay Raut. 

• Asked how he accounted for the defections and the cross vote casting, he stated, “The Chief Minister does not meet everyone. The MVA does not work. They do not have time for anyone and the MVA is corrupt”. The outcomes for the lone seat for which Congress candidates have been vying was the final to be declared. 

• Congress’s Chandrakant Handore lost the election to Bhai Jagtap, despite the fact that the Mumbai Congress leader was at number and Mr Handore was at number one in terms of first preference votes. Sources stated forty four Congress MLAs have been present in the assembly, however the outcomes made it clear that only forty one MLAs have voted for the Congress in first preference. Three Congress MLAs have cross-voted. 

• The counting, set to start at five pm, was behind schedule by over hours after the Congress raised objection to the votes cast by BJP MLAs Mukta Tilak and Laxman Jagtap. The unwell opposition legislators had cast their votes with the assist of assistants, which the Congress objected to. The Election Commission, however, dismissed the party’s objections. 

• Altogether, eleven candidates have been in the race for 10 seats in the Legislative Council, with MVA allies Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress fielding candidates each. The BJP nominated 5 candidates. 

• While 9 candidates have been confident of a victory, given the parties’ power in the state assembly, the principal contest was among Congress’s Mumbai President Bhai Jagtap and BJP’s Prasad Lad. Each candidate required the help of at the least 26 MLAs to win, and the 29 MLAs of smaller parties or independents will play a vital position withinside the elections.