Mumbai, June 1: The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra has finalized the seat-sharing formula for the upcoming MLC elections. After extensive discussions and high-level meetings, it has been agreed that the BJP will contest 11 seats, Shiv Sena will field candidates for 4 seats, and the NCP will contest 2 seats.
A total of 17 seats are up for grabs in this month’s MLC elections in Maharashtra. Following the announcement of the election date, the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP have been deliberating on the seat distribution. The agreement on seat allocation was reached just before the final day for nominations.
Based on its numerical strength in local bodies, the BJP secured the largest share of seats. Out of the 11 candidates, 10 will contest for a regular six-year term, while one candidate is contesting from the Nagpur seat.
The BJP’s allocated seats include Ahilyanagar, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Nagpur, Amravati, Bhandara-Gondia, Sangli-Satara, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, Nanded, Osmanabad-Latur-Beed, and Jalgaon.
The candidates nominated by the BJP are Prajakta Tanpure from Ahilyanagar, Arun Lakhani from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Rajiv Potdar from Nagpur (by-election seat), Praveen Pote Patil from Amravati, Avinash Brahmankar from Bhandara-Gondia, Dhairyashil Kadam from Sangli-Satara, Rajendra Raut from Solapur, Suhas Shirsat from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, Amar Rajurkar from Nanded, Basavaraj Patil from Osmanabad-Latur-Beed, and Nandkishor Mahajan from Jalgaon.
Initially, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde demanded 7 seats, but after intervention from the BJP’s national leadership, he agreed to 4 seats. In exchange for securing the Nashik seat, the Shiv Sena ceded the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna seat to the BJP. The Shiv Sena has announced its candidates: Ravindra Phatak from Thane, Narendra Darade from Nashik, Said Khan from Parbhani, and Sheetal Sanjay Rathod from Yavatmal.
The NCP remained firm on its demands and secured 2 seats. Notably, the party managed to obtain the Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat (Kokan local body) despite tensions with local Shiv Sena leaders. This dispute was likely resolved by leaving the position of Raigad’s guardian minister for the Shiv Sena.
The two seats won by the NCP are Pune and Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (Kokan). Vikram Kakade, son of Sanjay Kakade, will contest from Pune, while the party has nominated former MLA Aniket Tatkare from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.
It is important to note that voting for the MLC elections in Maharashtra is scheduled for June 18, with the last day for filing nominations being Monday.
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