Maharashtra: Day Before Lok Sabha Results, Mahayuti Suffers Internal Strife Over Legislative Council Election

In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP fought against the Mahavikas Aghadi by forming a Mahayuti comprising the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar's NCP faction, MNS, and several smaller parties. However, post-elections, this grand alliance appears to be unraveling. For the upcoming Legislative Council elections for teachers and graduates, members of the alliance have fielded candidates against each other.

The MNS initiated this by announcing Abhijit Panse's candidacy for the Konkan graduate constituency without consulting the alliance. Similarly, the NCP announced Shivajirao Nalawade as its candidate for the Mumbai teachers' graduate constituency. The BJP has now also declared its official candidates.

The BJP has announced its candidates for the Legislative Council elections: Kiran Shelar for the Mumbai graduate constituency, incumbent MLA Niranjan Davkhare for the Konkan graduate constituency, and Shivnath Darade for the Mumbai teachers' constituency. With the announcement of these three candidates, competition within the grand alliance has intensified, prompting speculation that this might be a precursor to the upcoming assembly elections.

In the Konkan graduate constituency, the contest now appears to be between the BJP and MNS. Additionally, the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena has also entered the fray. Shiv Sena Secretary Sanjay More collected the nomination form for the Konkan graduate constituency from Konkan Bhavan, indicating that Shiv Sena will also have a candidate in the race.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had given unconditional support to the BJP-led NDA in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Raj Thackeray himself had stated in a rally that the MNS was proposed to field a candidate from South Mumbai on the Shiv Sena's symbol. However, he clarified that the MNS would not field candidates on any symbol other than its own. While supporting the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, Raj Thackeray announced that MNS would field its candidates through the grand alliance in the assembly elections. This made the announcement of Abhijit Panse's candidacy for the Legislative Council a surprising move.

The schedule for the four Legislative Council seats was announced in April, with voting initially set for June 15. However, due to school holidays, various political parties and teachers' organizations requested a postponement. This request was made to senior election officials who visited Mumbai two weeks ago to review preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. Consequently, the Election Commission rescheduled the elections. The new schedule was announced on Friday, with voting now set for June 26 and counting on July 1. The period for filing nominations is from May 31 to June 7.