Setback for MVA as BJP does one better in MLC polls too

Mumbai: Just days after the Rajya Sabha elections, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra was dealt a big blow by the BJP which succeeded in winning five out of 10 seats in the state legislative council polls though it had the votes to win only four. The Congress won only one seat, while NCP and Shiv Sena won two each.
Though MVA led by CM Uddhav Thackerayhad adequate numbers to ensure election of all six nominees, it lost one seat while BJP ensured victory of all its five nominees, prima facie owing to large-scale cross-voting and support of independents.While the poll outcome is being viewed as a major setback for the Thackeray-led MVA after a Shiv Sena nominee's loss in the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections, it further strengthens the position of Devendra Fadnavis as the unchallenged BJP leader in the state whose electoral strategy has succeeded despite the party facing odds.Fadnavis has won two back-to-back victories after ensuring the win of all of the BJP's three RS candidates.
The surprise win of five seats is likely to bolster BJP morale in the run-up to the BMC and other key civic elections.
There were 11 candidates for 10 MLC seats. Congress nominee and ex-minister Chandrakant Handore lost the poll when, in fact, the fight for the tenth seat was between Bhai Jagtap of Congress and Prasad Lad of BJP. After counting of preferential votes, Lad and Jagtap were declared elected, while Handore lost.
NCP's Eknath Khadse and Ramraje Nimbalkar, Shiv Sena's Sachin Ahir and Amisha Padvi, Congress' Bhai Jagtap and BJP's Praveen Darekar, Shrikant Bhartiya, Uma Khapre, Ram Shinde, and Lad were declared elected late Monday evening. Polling had been conducted in the morning and afternoon.
The MVA had suffered a blow when Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar had lost the June 10 RS elections. Ever since the council elections were declared, Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Congress' Balasaheb Thorat had claimed that they had learnt their lessons from the RS polls, and no more mistakes would be made and the MVA would win all six seats in the council polls.
State BJP president Chandrakant Patil said the party secured 134 preferential votes. The party has 106 MLAs, besides the support of seven other MLAs. So according to the BJP, 21 votes have split from the MVA.
While Patil credited Fadnavis for BJP's victory, the ex-CM and opposition leader in the assembly said he does not believe in miracles. "It is the discontent within MVA that has come to the fore and converted into votes," Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis hugged Girish Mahajan, BJP MLA from Jalgaon, as he came down to speak to the media. Mahajan had been instrumental in holding successful negotiations with Hitendra Thakur's Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, which has three MLAs.
Fadnavis said only he himself knows the truth (on the MLAs who voted for BJP). "I thank all the MLAs from all the parties as also the independents who helped us and ensured the victory of our fifth candidate."
"In the Rajya Sabha elections we secured 123 votes in this election we secured 134 votes. Right from the beginning, I have been saying there is a lot of anger in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. There is no coordination (between the three parties). We had no votes for the fifth candidate, but our fifth candidate got more votes than the two Congress candidates. The results are an indication of the change that is to come," he said.
CM Thackeray has called a meeting of Sena MLAs on Tuesday in the wake of the poll debacle.
Four BJP candidates won in the first preferential round itself. Pravin Darekar secured 29 votes, Ram Shinde 30, Shrikant Bharatiya 30 and Uma Khapre 27 (one vote was declared invalid on account of overwriting).
BJP's Lad said at least 12 votes of the Sena have split.
Khadse's win too was important as, after his unceremonious exit from the Fadnavis-led cabinet in 2016, he was refused nomination in the 2019 elections owing to his political rivalry with Fadnavis. Khadse then joined NCP under leadership of Sharad Pawar. Khadse is under investigation by Enforcement Directorate for his alleged involvement in the Bhosari land deal. His wife Mandakini and son-in-law Girish Choudhary too are facing a probe.
Khadse secured more votes than the quota allotted to him. "I have well-wishers in BJP too, they must have voted for me. Ever since I left BJP, mental torture and harassment have become a rule than an exception," Khadse said after the results were declared.