Even As MVA Leads In Maharashtra MLC Polls, Maharashtra Congress President Blames BJP For Encouraging Rebellion In Congress

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won three – Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati – of the five seats which were up for grabs in Maharashtra Legislative Council polls from teachers and graduates segments.

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate, Dnyaneshwar Mhatre and independent candidate, Satyajit Tambe won from Konkan and Nashik graduates constituencies respectively.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed many BJP leaders helped the MVA in Vidarbha to secure victory in the Legislative Council polls. He also said that the BJP's backing was instrumental in Tambe's success (son of three-time MLC Dr Sudhir Tambe) and added that the BJP's "house will crumble."

Prior to the elections, the Congress had suspended Tambe senior for failing to adhere to the party's mandate to file his nomination for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. Instead, he allowed his son to run as an independent candidate in the Nashik Division Graduates constituency.

Talking to reporters, Patole said he still maintains that the Tambe father-son betrayed the party.

Voting took place on 30 January for five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, with counting starting on Thursday. The seats were split between three teachers segments in Nagpur, Konkan, and Aurangabad divisions, and two graduates constituencies in Nashik and Amravati divisions. Teachers and graduates fulfilling certain criteria and enrolled as voters formed the electoral college for these elections.

These elections were the first since the Eknath Shinde-led government took power in June of the previous year. However, neither faction of the Shiv Sena, led by Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray, had any direct candidates in the running.

In the Nagpur teachers constituency, the MVA-supported independent candidate, Sudhakar Adbale, defeated the BJP's candidate, Nagorao Ganar. NCP's Vikram Kale won the Aurangabad teachers constituency, defeating BJP nominee Kiran Patil. The BJP did manage to win the Konkan division teachers constituency, with Dnyaneshwar Mhatre defeating MVA-backed candidate Balaram Patil. The Nashik graduates constituency was won by independent candidate Satyajit Tambe, whose rebellion caused a stir within the state Congress before the polls.

(with inputs from PTI)