BJP may get 11 seats in Maharashtra MLC polls; 3 each for Shiv Sena, NCP

MUMBAI: As per the preliminary Mahayuti formula for next month’s Maharashtra Legislative Council MLC polls from local bodies, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will get the largest chunk of 11 out of 17 seats, while Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will get three seats each.

Polling will be held for the 17 seats where MLCs will be elected by local body representatives across the state. The Sena is expected to get seats from Thane, Nashik and Yavatmal, the NCP from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Pune, and Parbhani, while the BJP has claimed all other seats. Functionaries said a final decision on the seat-distribution formula will be taken by the top functionaries of the three alliance partners.

“CM Devendra Fadnavis said netas of all three parties will sit together and discuss where each party will fight. This discussion will happen soon. So far, no formula has been finalised. This will only be decided by the top netas. They will take into consideration the existing candidates and those who contested in the last election and the change in the current strength,” Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said.

Minister Uday Samant said the Sena gave its proposal to the BJP during the Mahayuti coordination committee meeting. “NCP might have also given its proposal. Mahayuti will contest all 17 seats and win all. A decision will be taken in the next 2-3 days,” Samant said.

Polling for the seats will be held on June 18, while counting of votes will take place on June 22. The notification for the election will be issued on May 25. The last date for filing nominations is June 1. Scrutiny of applications will be conducted on June 2, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till June 4. These seats have remained vacant for more than two-and-a-half years due to the non-conduct of local body elections across Maharashtra.