The Maharashtra Legislative Council elections took place on Friday where the BJP-backed Mahayuti Alliance won nine out of the 11 seats that will become vacant by the end of the month as the sitting MLAs are retiring.
The political parties in Maharashtra took precautions against potential cross-voting by moving their MLAs to luxury hotels on Thursday and also conducted last-minute strategy meetings in preparation for the biennial elections.
MLC Polls: Mahayuti Alliance Sweeps 9 Out OF 11 Seats
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's NCP along with the BJP, recovered from a disappointing general election by scoring a significant victory in MLC polls.
The BJP put forward five candidates, all of whom emerged victorious. Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's NCP each nominated two candidates, all four of whom also won.
On the opposition side, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising factions of Congress, Shiv Sena (under Uddhav Thackeray), and NCP (led by Sharad Pawar despite internal divisions), fielded three candidates, all of whom secured victories.
The BJP had fielded five candidates - former Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, Yogesh Tilekar, Parinay Phuke, Amit Gorkhe and Sadabhau Khot, and its ally Shiv Sena two - former Lok Sabha MPs Krupal Tumane and Bhavana Gawali. NCP had given tickets to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar.
The Congress had nominated Satav for another term, while Sena (UBT) had fielded Narvekar.
Maharashtra Legislative Council Polls | All You Need To Know
12 candidates contested for 11 seats for the state's upper house. The Electoral College comprises 274 members of the legislative assembly.
Voting began at 9 am at the Vidhan Bhavan complex and will conclude at 4 pm.
The counting of votes started at 5 pm.
The elections were needed as 11 members of the upper house are retiring on July 27, vacating the seats.
Each candidate must secure 23 first-preference votes to win.
The BJP has nominated five candidates, while its Mahayuti allies Shiv Sena and NCP have put forward two candidates each.
In the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have fielded one candidate each while the NCP (SP) is supporting the nominee from the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP).
MLC Polls: Political Parties Moved MLAs To Hotels Ahead Of Voting Amid Cross-Voting Threats
The political parties in Maharashtra took precautions against potential cross-voting by moving their MLAs to luxury hotels on Thursday and also conducted last-minute strategy meetings in preparation for the biennial elections.
To keep their MLAs together, political parties organized dinner meetings and arranged hotel stays for them ahead of the council elections, which took place just three months ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress, a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), has organized a dinner meeting for his party MLAs at a city hotel on Thursday night.
The Congress has issued a whip to its MLAs asking them to vote as per the party directive. As per the directive issued by Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, it is mandatory for all party MLAs to vote for the MVA candidates.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, also a member of the opposition bloc MVA, held a dinner interaction with his MLAs at a five-star hotel in central Mumbai on Wednesday night.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has moved its MLAs to a five-star hotel near the airport in suburban Mumbai. Assembly members of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena gathered in Vidhan Bhavan complex on Wednesday morning for a meeting and then moved to a five-star hotel in Bandra.
A meeting of the BJP legislature party took place in Vidhan Bhavan complex on Wednesday night and from there, the saffron outfit's MLAs were taken to a five-star hotel.
Controversy Regarding BJP MLA Gaikwad
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said allowing BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, who is in judicial custody in a shooting case, to vote in the Maharashtra legislative council polls would amount to misuse of power.
Talking to reporters, Raut cited that in the last legislative council polls, the then NCP MLAs Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik were not allowed to vote.
"Gaikwad can come out from jail to vote, but Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik were also in jail (during the 2022 council polls) and were not allowed to vote. This is use or misuse of power," he said.
The Congress had also urged the returning officer of the biennial elections not to allow Gaikwad.
Gaikwad, who represents the Kalyan East assembly constituency, was arrested in February for allegedly opening fire on a Shiv Sena functionary inside a police station at Ulhasnagar in Thane district over a land dispute and has been in judicial custody since the incident.
(With PTI inputs)
