The Maharashtra Assembly, consisting of 288 seats, currently has 274 active members. To secure election, each MLC candidate needs 23 first-preference votes. The ruling Mahayuti coalition, which is part of the larger NDA alliance and includes the BJP, the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar wing of NCP, has nominated nine candidates and has the backing of 201 MLAs, including support from Independents and smaller parties.
New Delhi: Resort politics has resurfaced in Maharashtra ahead of elections for 11 Legislative Council seats scheduled for Friday. After its strong performance in the Lok Sabha polls with 30 out of 48 seats, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has nominated three candidates, one more than it needs to secure a win, necessitating the election. The Maharashtra Assembly, composed of 288 seats, currently has 274 members.
Each MLC candidate requires 23 first-preference votes for election. The ruling Mahayuti coalition, part of the larger NDA alliance, including the BJP, the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar wing of NCP, has fielded nine candidates and enjoys support from 201 MLAs, including Independents and smaller parties. On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, under the INDIA umbrella, comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), with 67 MLAs collectively supporting three candidates.
The neutrality of six MLAs, including an independent, could play a decisive role in the election, where 12 candidates compete for 11 MLC seats. Maharashtra’s unique electoral environment The timing of these elections, right after the Lok Sabha polls and ahead of the state Assembly elections, has positioned it as an important event, often referred to as a semi-final. The election marks only the second time in Maharashtra’s political history where such a unique electoral environment prevails due to divisions within regional parties, resulting in factions like two Shiv Senas and two NCPs contesting against each other with subtly different identities.
Coalitions scramble for vote The numbers game is intense: the BJP with 103 MLAs has fielded five candidates, falling short by 12 votes. The Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction with 37 MLAs has two candidates, nine votes short and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction with 39 MLAs has two candidates, lacking seven votes for a majority. The ruling coalition relies on nine smaller party MLAs and 13 Independents for support.
In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Congress, with 37 MLAs, has one candidate and surplus votes, while Sharad Pawar’s NCP with 13 MLAs backs PWP’s Jayant Patil. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, with 15 MLAs, fields another candidate, banking on coalition support to bridge the vote deficit. Ahead of the elections, political maneuvers are clear: opposition MLAs have been housed in hotels, with Congress issuing a whip for their support and Shiv Sena and NCP also gathering their legislators in luxury accommodations.
The voting will occur from 9 am to 4 pm, followed by vote counting an hour later..
