Maharashtra MLC polls: Opposition leads 3-2; BJP-Sena trade charges

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance triumphed in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections, bagging three of the five seats where polling was held, while cracks surfaced in the ruling Mahayuti bloc on Thursday as the BJP blamed ally Shiv Sena for the coalition’s poor showing, accusing it of non-cooperation and undermining the coalition.

Congress candidate Abhijeet Wanjari was declared the winner in the Nagpur graduates constituency on Thursday, after a keenly watched vote-counting exercise that stretched for more than 40 hours.

Wanjari’s victory was notable because Nagpur is home to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and the RSS headquarters. Gadkari was a member of the legislative council from the Nagpur graduates’ constituency for 24 years, from 1990 to 2014.

Of the five graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies of the council which went to the polls on October 23, MVA won three, while the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance bagged two.

Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the Shiv Sena did not fulfil its alliance obligations in the Pune and Nagpur constituencies and that its last-minute support for independent candidate Sachin Sanap in Pune (for the teachers’ seat) dented the Mahayuti’s unity.

He accused Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar of campaigning against the NCP in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, contributing to the alliance’s setbacks. The Mahayuti alliance consists of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.

Maharashtra BJP vice-president Keshav Upadhye called for a review of the council poll results, questioning why the ruling alliance could win only two seats despite the possibility of a clean sweep if its partners had contested together.

Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar said the BJP should decide if it wants to continue the alliance with the Eknath Shinde-led party.

Polling was held for Pune graduates’, Nagpur graduates’, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) graduates’, Pune teachers’ and Amravati teachers’ constituencies.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav won the Pune graduates’ constituency, while Congress nominee Wanjari bagged the Nagpur graduates’ seat. NCP (SP) candidate emerged victorious in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Marathwada) graduates’ seat.

BJP nominee Kaustubh Gawade won the Pune teachers’ constituency, while Shiv Sena contestant Kiran Sarnaik secured the Amravati teachers’ seat.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Sunetra Pawar said her party would introspect after the Legislative Council election results.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut claimed that graduates who voted in the elections rejected the BJP and its allies and defeated them with their ballots.

Raut said the alliance dharma was not followed in either the ruling or the opposition camp.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal described the MVA’s victory in three of the five MLC seats as a sign of political change, saying his party colleague Abhijeet Wanjari’s re-election from Nagpur was particularly significant.

Wanjari defeated BJP’s Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes to retain the Nagpur graduates’ constituency seat. Vote counting began Tuesday morning and concluded in the wee hours of Thursday.

Congress leaders wasted no time taunting BJP leaders, including PM Narendra Modi and CM Devendra Fadnavis, over tweets that suggested the party had scored a duck in the polls.

Maharashtra Congress shared a screenshot of a deleted tweet by Fadnavis on social media, which said the grand old party got a “big fat zero” in the polls.

“By deleting the tweet, Fadnavis has once again preserved Savarkar’s legacy! Even before the full results were in hand, in a show of firing a big arrow, Fadnavis tweeted. But that very arrow turned back and pierced straight into his chest! In the end, he was forced to delete the tweet,” the state Congress said on X.

“Mr Fadnavis, scared already at this stage? This is just the trailer! In 2029, the people of Maharashtra will drop such a political bombshell on you that even this tweet of today will come back to haunt you! All the best, Mr Fadnavis! Get ready for the next jolt,” it added.

NCP leader Praful Patel called for an immediate review of the party’s priorities and organisational structure after its sole candidate lost the elections.

In the 78-member Legislative Council, the BJP is the largest party with 35 members, followed by the Shiv Sena with 12 and the NCP with 10. Among the opposition parties, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have five MLCs each, while the NCP (SP) has two. The House also has four independent MLCs.