Maharashtra MLC elections amid fears of cross-voting II VYGR

Maharashtra: To fill 11 seats on the Legislative Council, Maharashtra is preparing for a highly competitive election today. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), fresh off their victory in the Lok Sabha with 30 of 48 seats, has fielded three candidates, setting up an intense contest. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde expressed confidence in the ruling coalition despite concerns about cross-voting in the present biennial elections for the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

The candidates fielded

Currently, there are 274 members in the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly, which means that 23 first-preference votes are required for each MLC candidate to be elected. As part of the overall NDA alliance, the ruling Mahayuti has fielded 9 candidates supported by 201 MLAs, including Independents and smaller parties. This group includes the BJP, the Eknath Shinde branch of the Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar wing of the NCP.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), under the INDIA bloc, consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and the NCP (Sharad Pawar), has fielded 3 candidates, despite having the backing of just 67 MLAs.

Vote counting will begin at 5 pm today.

The hotel-resort politics

The MLAs of Ajit Pawar's NCP group moved to a five-star hotel in a suburban Mumbai area close to the airport, while the MLAs of the Shiv Sena first met at Vidhan Bhavan and then went to a five-star hotel in Bandra. At a dinner held for party MLAs on Thursday night in a Mumbai hotel, Congress's Vijay Wadettiwar issued a whip to guarantee votes for MVA candidates, with final instructions to be given shortly before voting starts. On Wednesday, Uddhav Thackeray gathered his MLAs for an overnight stay at a five-star hotel located in downtown Mumbai. On Thursday, other legislators joined them. BJP MLAs are also based at a five-star hotel, in contrast to the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, whose members are not in seclusion.

Fears of Cross-voting

The opposition and the ruling alliance are both concerned about cross-voting, which is why these actions are being taken. The NCP (SP) has asserted in recent days that certain MLAs from Ajit's opposing camp are in contact with the opposition party on a potential comeback. With just one seat won in the most recent Lok Sabha elections, Ajit's NCP had poor results. The state's assembly elections are only a few months away from the council elections.

Additionally, the council elections come after MVA's staggering performance in the general elections, when it gained 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats.

Inputs: Agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies