In a significant political win, the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra has triumphed in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections, securing 9 out of the 11 seats contested. This coalition includes Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction.
The BJP’s slate featured five candidates, among them Pankaja Munde, daughter of the late Gopinath Munde. All five of these candidates won their seats. Additionally, two candidates from Shinde’s Shiv Sena and two from Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction also secured victories.
The opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), composed of the Congress, and the Shiv Sena and NCP factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar respectively, managed to field three candidates but did not see similar success.
Celebrating the victory, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted a jubilant “9/9” message on social media, while Ajit Pawar thanked the MLAs who supported their candidates and expressed hope for similar success in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
These MLC elections, decided by Assembly lawmakers rather than a direct vote from the public, saw the BJP leveraging its 103 MLAs to secure its victories. Despite being short by 28 votes overall, the Mahayuti alliance’s success indicates possible cross-voting from other parties.
This electoral success is viewed as a crucial indicator for the Maharashtra Assembly elections set to take place later this year.
