Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) All 10 candidates in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections, including deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe, former Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve and ex-minister Bacchu
Kadu, were elected unopposed on Monday.
Of these council seats, the BJP, which heads the ruling Mahayuti coalition, won six, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) garnered one. One of the seats fell vacant due to mid-term resignation by a sitting member, while others were to on account of biennial elections to the Upper House of the legislature.
Fourteen nominations were filed for the elections to ten council seats. Four independents had also filed nomination, but they were disqualified for not fulfilling the mandatory requirements, leaving ten candidates in the fray for as many seats.
Monday was the last day for withdrawing nomination papers. As there was no additional candidate in the fray, all ten candidates were elected unopposed.
The ruling BJP candidates to get elected were Sunil Vinayak Karjatkar, Madhavi Naik, Sanjay Natthuji Bhende, Vivek Bipindada Kolhe and Pramod Shantaram Jathar. It fielded former Congress MLC Pradnya Rajeev Satav for a separate by-election.
Satav’s term was originally to end on July 27, 2030, but she chose to switch her allegiance to the BJP. Her resignation as a Congress MLC necessitated the bypoll.
The Opposition MVA fielded Shiv Sena (UBT) politician Danve, a former Leader of Opposition in the council.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena re-nominated Gorhe, the incumbent deputy chairperson of the council, and former MLA Bacchu Kadu, who joined the party on Thursday. Gorhe contested her fifth legislative council election.
Another ruling coalition ally, the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, fielded Zeeshan Siddique, former MLA from Vandre (East) in Mumbai.
The six-year term of nine council members, including former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, will end on May 13. PTI PR RSY
