Maharashtra: Congress Leader From Nashik Joins Shiv Sena UBT Ahead Of MLC Elections 2024

Mumbai, Jun 1: In a setback to the Congress ahead of the Maharashtra legislative council polls, Sandeep Gulve, a party leader from Nashik, joined the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday. Gulve is likely to be fielded from the Nashik Teachers' constituency in the biennial elections slated to be held on June 26.

Gulve joined the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit in the presence of party leaders Sanjay Raut, Subhash Desai and Diwakar Raote at Sena Bhavan. The former Congress leader has been a member of the Nashik Zilla Parishad from 2012 to 2017. He is also director of Maratha Vidya Prasarak Mandal.

The biennial elections to four legislative council seats- Mumbai Graduates constituency, Konkan Graduates Constituency, Mumbai Teachers constituency and Nashik Teachers constituency- became necessary as the terms of sitting members are expiring in July.

The last date for filing the nominations is June 7. Voting will be held on June 26, and results will be declared on July 1. Earlier this week, state Congress president Nana Patole had said that the party will contest two out of four Legislative Council constituencies, and the names of the candidates will be announced on June 2.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), a member of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), last week named MLC Anil Parab and party functionary J M Abhyankar as its candidates for the Mumbai Graduates and Mumbai Teachers constituencies.

Out of 78 seats in the legislative council, Shiv Sena (undivided) has 11 members, NCP (undivided) 9, Congress 8, and BJP 22. The JD (U), Peasants and Workers Party, and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha have one member each, while four are Independents. 21 seats are vacant.

The vacant seats include 12 members to be nominated by the governor and nine selected through local body representatives.