News Brief
BJP, Allies Win All Nine Seats They Contested In Maharashtra Legislative Council Polls— All About It
(R to L) Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. (Image via X)
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the NCP faction of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, achieved a big victory in the the MLC polls.
This comes as a significant boost after the alliance's underwhelming performance in the general election.
The MLC election is being seen as a 'semi final' for the Maharashtra Assembly election later this year.
Big Win for BJP and Allies
The BJP, which fielded five candidates including Pankaja Munde, daughter of the late senior leader Gopinath Munde, saw all its candidates emerge victorious.
Similarly, the Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, with each fielding two candidates, also secured wins for all their nominees.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, composed of the Congress, and factions of the Sena and NCP led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, fielded three candidates but could win only two seats.
Leaders React to the Victory
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his joy on social media, posting "9/9" with a thumbs-up emoji.
Ajit Pawar, addressing the media, extended his gratitude to the supporting MLAs, stating, "Five MLAs supported us, I thank them. When there are elections, allegations are made but I do not think about it... Mahayuti should get such success in the Vidhan Sabha as well."
What happened in the MLC Elections
Given the indirect nature of MLC elections, where Assembly lawmakers cast votes, the results were largely anticipated based on party strength.
The BJP's strength of 103 MLAs already secured four seats for the party, with the fifth requiring additional support.
The Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also needed supplementary votes to clinch their respective seats.
The Congress, with 37 MLAs, fielded one candidate, leaving it with 14 surplus votes intended for its MVA allies.
Sharad Pawar's NCP faction backed Jayant Patil of the Peasants and Workers Party but fell short by 10 votes.
Thackeray's Sena, which fielded one candidate, was eight votes short.
The MVA collectively needed additional votes to secure all three of its contested seats.
The decisive factor was always going to be the votes from MLAs outside the major parties, including those from the Samajwadi Party, AIMIM, CPIM, and an independent.
Even with these additional votes, neither the Mahayuti nor the MVA had enough to win all seats outright, suggesting potential cross-voting by MLAs in Mahayuti's favour.
