With the election to the 11 vacant assembly constituencies in Maharashtra today, each party has kept its MLAs in separate star hotels to ensure that MLAs do not switch sides.
The Maha Vikas Alliance (India Alliance), buoyed by winning 30 of the 48 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, has fielded three candidates. This situation has arisen because they are able to field only two candidates but have fielded 3 candidates.
The 288-seat Maharashtra Legislative Assembly currently has 274 members. According to this, the votes of 23 MLAs are required to elect an MLC. The ruling Mahayudi-coalition (National Democratic Alliance) comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde wing and NCP’s Ajit Pawar wing has 201 MLAs supported by independents and smaller parties. With this, the BJP alliance has fielded nine candidates.
The Maha Vikas alliance under the India Alliance consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and NCP (Sharad Pawar). They have the support of only 67 MLAs. However, three candidates have been suspended. A total of 12 candidates are contesting for 11 MLC seats, while six MLAs, including one independent, are neutral. Whomever they vote for, their candidate can be elected as MLAC.
There is a risk that the MLAs in the Ajit Pawar-led team may switch parties and vote in this election. Some are in the mood to join the Sarath Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which now has 40 MLAs in Ajit Pawar’s party. But he has fielded 2 candidates. A candidate needs 23 votes to win. So Ajit Pawar needs to get the support of 6 more MLAs for both the candidates to win.
As far as the Shiv Sena teams are concerned, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has fielded a candidate. But that party has only 15 MLAs. The party still needs the support of 8 MLAs. The party itself has withheld the candidate in the hope that other Shiv Sena MLAs will switch sides and vote.
Congress party has 37 MLAs. Congress has fielded only one candidate. 25 MLAs will vote for one candidate. The remaining 10 people are going to vote for Uddhav Thackeray’s party candidate. Sarath Pawar’s NCP party has not fielded a candidate. At the same time, he has supported independent candidate Jayant Patil.
Sharad Pawar’s party will have 14 MLAs. Jayant Patil needs the support of 9 more MLAs to win. The two MLAs who are surplus in the Congress party are going to vote for Jayant Patil. Apart from this, two MLAs each from Samajwadi and MIM parties are going to support Jayant Patil.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena has 39 MLAs. But Shinde has also fielded two candidates. They still need the support of more MLAs to win. As for BJP, it has 103 MLAs. 5 candidates are suspended. All the alliances fielded candidates in the hope that other party candidates would switch votes.
In this context, each party has kept its MLAs in separate star hotels so that the MLAs do not change before the election. Congress MLAs were hosted by state president Nana Patole at a private star hotel. Ajit Pawar also takes care of his party MLAs in a star hotel in central Mumbai.
Uddhav Thackeray treated his party MLAs to a special dinner at a five-star hotel in central Mumbai. Shiv Sena MLAs led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have been lodged at the Five Star Hotel in Bandra.
BJP MLAs are staying at a star hotel in Gaffaredu area of ​​Mumbai. Leaders including Ajit Pawar, Eknath Shinde are in confusion whether they will switch their votes.
