Maharashtra: 11 Vacant Seats, 12 Candidates In Fray; MLC Elections Set For A Thriller Contest

In the wake of the Lok Sabha election results, the changing political landscape in the state sets the stage for the Legislative Council elections (MLC Election 2024) on July 12. A total of 12 candidates have filed nominations for the 11 available seats. Friday was the last day to withdraw nominations, leading to speculation that either independent candidate PWP's Jayant Patil or Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Milind Narvekar would step back. However, no withdrawals were made, ensuring a competitive election on July 12.

Voting will occur in the legislature using a secret ballot, raising concerns about potential financial influence and vote-splitting. It remains to be seen which party's votes might be divided.

The BJP has fielded five candidates: Pankaja Munde, Sadabhau Khot, Parinay Fuke, Yogesh Tilekar, and Amit Gorkhe. The NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar has nominated Rajesh Vitekar and Shivajirao Garje, while Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has put forward Bhavana Gawli and Kripal Tumane. Under Sharad Pawar's NCP, Jayant Patil is running, and the Congress has nominated Pradnya Satav. Uddhav Thackeray has added to the competition by entering Milind Narvekar, whose cross-party connections could play a pivotal role in the election outcome.

Current strength:

•  Maha Yuti (Grand Alliance): BJP - 103, Shinde Sena - 37, NCP (AP) - 39, smaller parties - 9, independents - 13 (total 201).
• MVA: Congress - 37, Thackeray faction - 15, NCP (SP) - 13, Shetkari Kamgar Paksha - 1, independents - 1 (total 67).
• Other: AIMIM - 2, SP - 2, CPI(M) - 1, KSP - 1 (total 6).

The total strength of the council is 274 members.