MLC Polls: Suspecting Cross-Voting, Uddhav Thackeray Calls Meeting of Sena MLAs

Two candidates each of the ruling allies NCP and Shiv Sena and five candidates fielded by the BJP won the MLC polls.

A day after the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called an urgent meeting of all Shiv Sena MLAs on Tuesday, 21 June, at 12 pm, after suspected cross-voting in the elections.

Two candidates each of the ruling allies Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena and five candidates fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the MLC polls.

The voting ended at 4 pm on Monday, with all the 285 eligible MLAs casting their vote, including some ailing legislators who were taken to the legislature complex on wheelchairs, an official from the Vidhan Bhavan said.

The Shiv Sena's winners were Sachin Ahir and Amshya Padvi, whereas the Nationalist Congress Party's were Eknath Khadse and Ramraje Nimbalkar.

The BJP's Shrikant Bharti, Praveen Darekar, Uma Khapre, Ram Shinde, and Prasad Lad won five seats, while the Congress' Bhai Jagtap won in the second round of counting.

The Congress, meanwhile, alleged foul play, stating that two ailing BJP MLAs used their assistants to cast their votes.

Alleging that two ailing MLAs of the BJP cast their votes in the polls using their assistants, the Congress submitted a complaint to poll officials.

However, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis, said the two legislators had taken prior permission to cast their votes with an assistant. "It is highly insensitive to raise objections regarding the legislators who are unwell. It is an attempt to waste time," he said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court had declined the plea of jailed NCP leaders and MLAs Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh seeking temporary release from prison to cast their votes in the MLC election.