After a dismal showing in the general election, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra—which includes the saffron party, the NCP of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena—rebounding with a significant victory in MLC polls.
Pankaja Munde, the late prominent politician Gopinath Munde’s daughter, was one of the five candidates put out by the BJP. Every single one of the five won. Both the NCP of Ajit Pawar and the Shinde Sena named two. Everybody four won.
Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar led the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which consisted of the Congress, Sena, and NCP sections (shattered by Mr. Shinde and Mr. Pawar’s rebellions) and fielded three candidates.
A “semi final” for the Maharashtra Assembly election later this year is the MLC poll.
Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister, celebrated right away by sharing a short message on X (previously Twitter). He said, “9/9,” adding an emoji of a thumbs-up for impact.
9/9 👍 #MLCElection #VidhanParishad #Maharashtra
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 12, 2024
After the results, Ajit Pawar told reporters, “We are grateful to the five MLAs who supported us.” Allegations are made during elections, but I don’t give them much thought.”
#WATCH | On MLC elections, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar says, "Five MLAs supported us, I thank them. When there are elections, allegations are made but I do not think about it…Mahayuti should get such success in the Vidhan Sabha as well…" pic.twitter.com/DnBeESpLV1
— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2024
Twelve contenders contested the eleven seats.
Given that MLCs are chosen indirectly—that is, by Assembly lawmakers—and that a party can only claim one legislative council seat if it has the necessary number of MLAs, in this case 23, the results were probably not shocking.
With five candidates, the BJP now has 103 MLAs. This left it twelve shy of its fifth seat, out of a promised four. With 37 members, the Shinde Sena was nine short. Additionally, Ajit Pawar’s NCP fell seven short of 39. As a result, the Mahayuti needed 28 more votes to win the nine seats it ran for.
On the other side of the aisle, the Congress has 37 MLAs but has only nominated one candidate, leaving it with 14 extra votes that it will share with its MVA allies. Though it was shorthanded by 13 MLAs, the NCP group led by Sharad Pawar was backing Jayant Patil of the Peasants and Workers Party.
Even though they were eight votes short, Mr. Thackeray’s Sena nonetheless fielded one candidate. If the additional votes from the Congress were to be counted in favor of its partners, the MVA fell four votes shy of gaining all three.
The votes from outsiders, including one independent, a lone CPIM representative, and two MLAs each from Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, were always going to be crucial.
That still only amounts to six more votes. This implies that there may have been cross-voting because it would not have been sufficient for either the Mahayuti or the MVA to win every seat they were running for.
Fear of horse-trading and poaching had preceded the lawmakers’ vote, resulting in a round of resort politics that has become a regular aspect of the Indian election scene.
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