Mahayuti bags 16 of 17 MLC seats in Maharashtra; Opposition routed

Mumbai, Jun 22 (PTI) Amid cross-voting from both ruling and Opposition ranks, the BJP-led Mahayuti on Monday swept 16 of the 17 Maharashtra Legislative Council seats from local authorities' constituencies even as Nashik delivered a surprise defeat to the governing bloc.

The BJP won 11 seats and its allies Shiv Sena three and the NCP two. Independent candidate Gokul Gite, a relative of a local party leader, clinched the Nashik seat by defeating the Shiv Sena nominee, but hours later joined the Eknath Shinde-led party as an associate member.

The biennial elections were originally notified for 17 seats, including one bypoll, but voting was necessitated in only 11 constituencies as candidates of the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, secured unopposed victories in six seats.

Voting in the 11 constituencies, where elected members of local self-governing bodies formed the electoral college, was held on June 18 and counting took place on June 22.

The Opposition MahaVikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), failed to win a single seat.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the poll outcome a "resounding victory" and decisive mandate in favour of the Mahayuti.

Fadnavis, who belongs to the BJP, asserted the victory came under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of senior party leaders.

"The BJP-Mahayuti has won the Legislative Council elections in Maharashtra. I congratulate all the winning candidates," he said.

The results were marked by cross-voting across constituencies, including from Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) ranks in favour of BJP and Shiv Sena candidates.

In Nagpur, BJP nominee Rajiv Potdar registered a record win as Congress candidate Atul Londhe failed to retain even his party's votes, with around 40 Congress votes reportedly defecting. The Nagpur local authorities constituency saw a bypoll which was necessitated after senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule vacated the seat following his election to the Assembly.

Congress leader Vikas Thakre expressed strong displeasure over the Nagpur bypoll result, saying, "What has happened is not good. Votes should not have split. Those responsible must explain what happened and action should be taken against those who indulged in betrayal." He added that the Congress would identify those responsible for cross-voting and hold discussions with observers, pointing to lapses in Nagpur Rural where the responsibility lay with appointed party functionaries.

In Sangli-Satara, BJP nominee Dhairyashil Kadam defeated NCP (SP) candidate Abhaysinh Jagtap by 593 votes to 292, though over 100 votes were said to have cross-voted, indicating discontent within both alliances. The contest saw intense mobilisation by senior BJP leaders, including Udayanraje Bhosale and Shivendraraje Bhosale.

The Nashik result stood out as the only setback for the ruling alliance, where Shiv Sena candidate Narendra Darade (248 votes) lost to Independent Gite (357) by a margin of 109 votes.

Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, had campaigned in the constituency along with several elected representatives.

Hours after his victory, Gite joined the Shiv Sena as an associate member.

Addressing a news conference, Gite said he had expressed interest to work under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena.

"I have joined the Shiv Sena as an associate member" Gite said.

The Nashik constituency had witnessed controversy since Gite announced his candidature against Darade as an independent.

Six candidates were elected unopposed to the Upper House of the state legislature -- Shiv Sena's Ravindra Phatak and Dushyant Chaturvedi, NCP's Aniket Tatkare and Vikram Kakade, and BJP's Arun Lakhani and Prajakt Tanpure.

Other winners included BJP's Suhas Shirsat (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna), Avinash Brahmankar (Bhandara-Gondia), Rajendra Raut (Solapur), Basavaraj Patil (Dharashiv-Latur-Beed), Nandkishor Mahajan (Jalgaon), Pravin Pote (Amravati) and Amar Rajurkar (Nanded), along with Shiv Sena's Saeed Khan (Parbhani-Hingoli).

Data from constituencies indicated cross-voting played a decisive role. In Nagpur, despite Congress and allied strength, BJP secured 501 votes, pointing to defections. Similar patterns were visible in Sangli-Satara and Nashik, where vote shares of rival parties did not translate into expected outcomes.

The elections follow a preferential voting system, where candidates must secure more than 50 per cent of valid votes plus one to win, with second-preference votes counted if required.

The Opposition MVA alleged the ruling alliance used money and muscle power to force withdrawal of rival candidates.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged the Mahayuti alliance resorted to "saam, daam, dand, bhed" and misused its power and resources to secure victory in the elections, claiming the outcome reflected a "might is right" approach.

He said the ruling alliance displayed an "arrogance of power" and undermined democratic norms.

"The results are an example of 'jiski lathi, uski bhains' (might is right). What was witnessed was not democracy, but authoritarianism. The BJP is moving towards 'One Nation, One Party' by first weakening Opposition parties and later its allies," he said in a statement.

He further claimed Opposition candidates were pressured to withdraw from the contest and accused the administration and the Election Commission were aiding the ruling dispensation.

Sapkal said money power and inducements played a role in the elections and claimed each voter was offered Rs 5 lakh and other incentives.

He asserted the Congress would continue its fight to safeguard democracy and the Constitution.

Referring to the Nagpur contest, Sapkal said Congress candidate Londhe entered the fray as part of an ideological battle despite the party's lack of numerical strength. PTI