Maharashtra Assembly votes in key test for political parties ahead of state assembly elections

The biennial elections to elect 11 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly from the MLA quota will be a key test for the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled later this year.

There are 14 vacant seats in the 288-member House of Representatives, leaving 274 electoral college seats and 23 elected allotments.

Depending on the number of seats in the state lower house, the MVA is likely to win two of the 11 seats and the ruling alliance nine.

The Congress can field one candidate for the MLC, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) can field one candidate each. The BJP can field five candidates and the remaining four can be chosen by its allies Shiv Sena and NCP.

The election is scheduled to take place on July 12, with applications for candidacy opening on June 25.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 103 members of the state assembly, followed by Ajit Pawar’s NCP with 40 and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena with 38.

The Indian National Congress has 37 members, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has 15 and Sharad Pawar-led NCP has 10.

NCP legislators Ashok Pawar and Nawab Malik have not filed affidavits in support of either of the two factions.

Shiv Sena’s Sandipan Bhumle and Ravindra Waickal, and NCP (SP)’s Nilesh Ranke, Pratibha Dhanorkar, Varsha Gaikwad, Balwant Wankhade and Praniti Shinde (all from the Indian National Congress) were elected members of Parliament in the recent Indian Lok Sabha elections.

Ashok Chavan and Raju Parve of the Indian National Congress have already resigned. Sunil Kedar of the Indian National Congress has been disqualified.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Govardhan Sharma, Rajendra Patni, Indian National Congress’ PN Patil and Shiv Sena’s Anil Babbar passed away.

An NCP (SP) leader said the Assembly elections are likely to go unopposed as parties do not want to take the risk of Senate elections. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has declared that it will move the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the elections as many Shiv Sena and NCP MLAs are facing disqualification proceedings.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders said the election contest can be avoided only if there is no 12th candidate.

The NCP (SP) has extended its support to Jayant Patil of the Peasant Workers Party (PWP).

The council is expected to decide whether to field one or two candidates when it meets on June 25.

In the 288-seat Lok Sabha, the BJP had 105 members, the Indian National Congress 45, the (united) NCP 53 and the (united) Shiv Sena 56.

The Bahujan Vikas Aghadi Party (BVA) has three MLAs, the Samajwadi Party has two, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party (AIMIM) has two, the Prahar Janshakti Party has two, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Swabhimani Party, the Nationalist Samaj Party (RSP), Jansuraj Shakti Party, the Krantikari Shetkari Party and the PWP have one each and there are 13 independents.

The biennial elections are necessitated due to the retirement of 11 MLCs – Manisha Kayande (Shiv Sena), Anil Parab (Shiv Sena-UBT), Vijay Girkar, Nilay Naik, Ramesh Patil and Ramrao Patil (BJP), Abdullah Durrani (NCP), Wajahat Mirza and Pragya Satav (Congress), Mahadev Jankar (RSP) and Jayant Patil (PWP).