Mahayuti eyes dominant show in Maharashtra MLC polls
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance heads into the biennial Maharashtra Legislative Council elections from local authorities’ constituencies seeking to win all 17 seats, with voting slated in 12 on Thursday and the remaining five already decided through unopposed victories.
Members of local self-government bodies such as municipal corporations, councils, and zilla parishads are eligible to cast their votes between 8 am and 4 pm. Votes will be counted on June 22.
Although elections were notified for 17 seats, actual voting will be held only in 12 constituencies as candidates of the ruling alliance have already been elected unopposed in five seats, making their formal declaration a procedural formality.
The Mahayuti bloc consists of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. The ruling coalition has already secured uncontested victories for BJP’s Arun Lakhani from the Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli constituency, NCP nominees Vikram Kakade from Pune and Aniket Tatkare from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, and Shiv Sena candidates Ravindra Phatak from Thane and Dushyant Chaturvedi from Yavatmal.
With those seats in its pocket, the Mahayuti is focusing on the remaining 12 constituencies and is attempting to prevent the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from gaining ground.
Despite its numerical advantage, the ruling alliance’s campaign has not been entirely free of difficulties. Internal differences surfaced in the Satara-Sangli and Nashik local authorities’ constituencies, forcing senior leaders to intervene and undertake damage-control measures.
The Satara-Sangli constituency has emerged as one of the most keenly watched contests. The BJP has fielded Dhairyasheel Kadam, while the NCP (SP) has nominated Abhaysinh Jagtap. The seat witnessed unease within the ruling alliance after sections of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena expressed reservations over the seat-sharing arrangement.
