Maharashtra council polls: Sena UBT demands extension in voting time citing heavy rains

Mumbai, July 12 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday demanded that the voting time for the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls be extended by an hour due to heavy rains in Mumbai.

Biennial elections to 11 council seats are scheduled to be held on the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai between 9 am and 4 pm.

Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai told reporters that they will request the state electoral officer to extend the voting timing by an hour as it has been raining heavily in Mumbai since Thursday night.

There are 12 candidates in the fray for the 11 seats in the upper house of the state legislature where the 274 current members of the legislative assembly form the electoral college.

Early on Friday, NCP MLAs led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar left their hotel in a Mumbai suburb and boarded a private bus to reach the Vidhan Bhavan complex to cast their votes.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed BJP MLAs at a city hotel on Thursday night where Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde was also present.

The leaders urged the MLAs not to take the council polls lightly and ensure that no vote is rendered invalid.

Eleven Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) are completing their 6-year term on July 27.

The 288-member legislative assembly is the electoral college for the polls and its current strength is 274.

Each winning candidate would need a quota of 23 first-preference votes.

The BJP is the largest party in the assembly with 103 members, followed by the Shiv Sena (38), NCP (42), Congress (37), Shiv Sena (UBT) 15 and NCP (SP) 10.

Other parties with a presence in the lower house include the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (3), Samajwadi Party (2), AIMIM (2), Prahar Janshakti Party (2), MNS, CPI(M), Swabhimani Paksh, Jansurajya Shakti Party, RSP, Krantikari Shetkari Paksh and PWP (one each). Besides, there are 13 independent MLAs.

The BJP has fielded five candidates – Pankaja Munde, Yogesh Tilekar, Parinay Phuke, Amit Gorkhe Sadabhau Khot – and its ally Shiv Sena two – former Lok Sabha MPs Krupal Tumane and Bhavana Gawali. Another Mahayuti ally NCP has given tickets to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar The Congress has re-nominated Pradnya Satav for another term, while its Maha Vikas Aghadi partner Sena (UBT) has fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party president Thackeray.

The third MVA constituent, NCP (SP), has not fielded its nominee and instead extended support to Jayant Patil of the PWP.

The Congress has excess votes since it has fielded only one candidate.

Apprehensions of cross-voting prevail in both ruling Mahayuti and opposition MVA blocs.

The MVA does not have numbers on its side to get the third candidate elected but is banking on some MLAs of the NCP and the Shiv Sena, both constituents of Mahayuti, to cross-vote in their favour.

Over the last few days, the NCP (SP) has claimed that some MLAs of the rival camp led by Ajit Pawar are in touch with the opposition party for a possible return.