Congress candidate Pradnya Satav won comfortably on the first preference vote but some Congress MPs cross-voted despite clear instructions from the party, resulting in the defeat of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate Jayant Patil and the victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti, which did not have enough votes to field a ninth candidate.
The situation is quite similar to the 2022 elections, where the first choice Congress candidate Chandrakant Handre lost the state assembly elections while the second choice Bhai Jagtap won with additional votes. After the 2022 debacle of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, no action was taken against these state assembly members despite the state leadership submitting a report to the Congress high command.
Cross-voting claims
In the recent MLC elections, unconfirmed reports had indicated that cross-voting may occur and the ruling alliance may get additional votes from the MVA, but it appears that MVA leaders, especially Congress leaders, ignored the warnings, resulting in cross-voting from their camp.
“Those who cross-vote will also be punished mercilessly and strict action will be taken,” state Congress leader Nana Patole said in the evening.
Congress sources said many lawmakers who voted as instructed by their party leaders were concerned as to why no action had been taken against those who voted against them, with some even demanding their immediate dismissal for anti-party behaviour.
“The Lok Sabha elections showed that the people are supporting us (Indian National Congress Party), but a few members of our party have betrayed us. We wanted to identify such members and hence we contested the state assembly elections and fielded our candidates. Soon there will be a purge in the party. Those who voted against will be identified and action will be taken against them. The state leadership has submitted a report to the Indian National Congress Party high command,” Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, said on X.
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Will it be so or will it not be so?
Whenever the Assembly takes disciplinary action against a Member of Parliament or a State Assembly, a committee is formed which serves notice on the leadership concerned and asks them to respond. The committee then recommends to the Speaker of the Assembly what action to take.
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Sources in the Congress secretariat said Patole was of the opinion that the high command should not wait for the committee to be constituted as the state leadership has already submitted a detailed report identifying those involved in cross-voting. Some of these state legislators were also involved in cross-voting in the 2022 state assembly elections.
There is an ongoing debate within the Maharashtra Congress over this move. With the Lok Sabha polls going strong, party leaders may be reluctant to take action as it could impact the upcoming state elections. Some Congress leaders feel that action should be taken to prevent these Congress leaders from switching parties after the state elections. The state leadership is now putting the onus on Congress leaders.
Sources in the Congress secretariat said Patole was of the opinion that the high command should not wait for the committee to be constituted as the state leadership has already submitted a detailed report identifying those involved in cross-voting. Some of these state legislators were also involved in cross-voting in the 2022 state assembly elections.
There is an ongoing debate within the Maharashtra Congress over this move. With the Lok Sabha polls going strong, party leaders may be reluctant to take action as it could impact the upcoming state elections. Some Congress leaders feel that action should be taken to prevent these Congress leaders from switching parties after the state elections. The state leadership is now putting the onus on Congress leaders.
