Mumbai: The stage is set for a high-stakes battle in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, with 11 seats up for grabs tomorrow. The election has gained significance due to the fact that one candidate from each of the main parties is at risk of losing, including those from the ruling BJP and NCP. The election is a closely-watched affair, with Ajit Pawar's NCP's Shivajirao Garje, PWPI's Jayant Patil, Thackeray's Milind Narvekar, and one of the BJP's five candidates at risk of losing.
In this crucial election, each candidate needs to secure at least 23 votes to emerge victorious. The BJP, which has fielded five candidates, including Pankaja Munde, Parinay Phuke, Sadabhau Khot, Amit Gorkhe, and Yogesh Tilekar, is under pressure to pull in additional votes from outside to ensure their candidates' victory.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has 103 votes, with an additional 8 votes from allied parties. Despite having a total of 111 votes, the BJP still needs 4 more votes to win all five seats. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has devised a strategy to secure the crucial votes of four key candidates in the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. This is not the first time Fadnavis has pulled off such a feat, as he successfully managed to win over ruling party votes during the 2022 Legislative Council elections despite being part of the opposition.
The NCP has given a chance to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar, while the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has fielded Krupal Tumane and Bhavana Gawli. The opposition Mahavikas Aghadi has nominated three candidates, including Congress MLA Pradnya Satav and Peasants And Workers Party Of India (PWPI) leader Jayant Patil.
The presence of Milind Narvekar, a close associate of Uddhav Thackeray, has raised eyebrows in political circles. Narvekar's connections with leaders from various parties could prove crucial in the election.
According to sources, Shiv Sena UBT party president Uddhav Thackeray has urged Congress to give second preference to Milind Narvekar, along with extra votes. If the Congress uses its quota of 27-28 votes, it may have 10 extra votes that could be beneficial for Narvekar. Even if Congress uses all 37 votes, the extra votes will be carried forward for the second preference, which will clear the way for Narvekar's win.
Jayant Patil has received support from NCP leader Sharad Pawar for 12 votes. To cover his quota of 23 votes, he will need 11 more votes. The Bahujan Vikas Aghadi's role will be significant in this regard, as they have the potential to sway the vote.
Hitendra Thakur, a prominent figure from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, has met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, fuelling speculation about which candidate he will support. The outcome will depend on how Thakur chooses to exercise his vote.
To avoid cross-voting due to the secret ballot system, all major political parties moved their MLAs to five-star hotels in Mumbai. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) housed its MLAs at ITC Grand Central Hotel in Lower Parel, while the BJP MLAs are staying at Taj President in Colaba.
The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) MLAs are at Taj Lands End in Bandra. Ajit Pawar's NCP faction had arranged accommodations for their MLAs at Hotel Lalit in Andheri. Confident in their unity, the Congress had organized a small dinner meeting on Thursday at Hotel Intercontinental in South Mumbai. Observers from the Congress joined from Delhi to brief the MLAs about voting. Interestingly, the NCP(SP), led by Sharad Pawar, had not booked any hotels or organized any major meetings for its MLAs.
Congress MLA Kailash Gorantyal said, "We are well aware that three to four MLAs may potentially cross-vote, which could impact our candidates. To mitigate this risk, we are developing a new strategy to ensure that our candidates emerge victorious despite any potential defections."
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the largest party with 103 seats, followed by the Indian National Congress with 37 seats. The Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde has secured 38 seats, while the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar has won 40 seats.
The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray has managed to bag only 15 seats. The Congress-NCP alliance has a total of 51 seats, while the Independents and smaller parties have won a total of 25 seats. The total number of seats in the Maharashtra Assembly is 288, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party but falling short of a majority.
