Mumbai, June 4 (IANS) Significant political developments unfolded across Maharashtra on the final day for the withdrawal of nominations on Thursday for the 17 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) from the Local Authorities’ constituencies.
While the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) attempted to field strong challenges against the ruling Mahayuti alliance, several MVA candidates withdrew their nominations, citing a lack of favourable numbers and alleged non-cooperation from alliance partners.
Concurrently, top Mahayuti leaders successfully pacified most of their internal rebels.
By the end of the withdrawal window, five seats were decided unopposed, with the Mahayuti alliance securing all five (Shiv Sena – 2, NCP – 2, BJP – 1). The remaining 12 constituencies will head to the polls.
Candidates elected unopposed on five seats include: Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli: Arun Lakhani (BJP); Pune: Vikram Kakade (NCP – Ajit Pawar); Thane: Ravindra Phatak (Shiv Sena – Eknath Shinde); Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg: Aniket Tatkare (NCP – Ajit Pawar); and Yavatmal: Dushyant Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena – Eknath Shinde)
A high-drama moment was witnessed when BJP Minister Nitesh Rane personally accompanied Bal Mane, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from the Konkan constituency, to the District Collector’s office to withdraw his nomination. Meanwhile, in Nashik, Ganesh Gite withdrew early in the day, but Gokul Gite remained in the fray.
In Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, allocated to the NCP (Ajit Pawar) under the Mahayuti seat-sharing pact, the party fielded Aniket Tatkare. Shiv Sena (UBT) had nominated Bal Mane, but in a dramatic turn, Mane arrived at the Collectorate with Mahayuti Minister Nitesh Rane and withdrew his papers. Arvind Mhatre of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) also withdrew.
Following this, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut announced Bal Mane’s immediate expulsion from the party for anti-party activities, paving the way for Tatkare’s unopposed victory.
In Pune, NCP’s Sunil Tingre and BJP rebel Pradeep Kand withdrew their nominations. For the MVA, Shrikant Patil of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) also pulled out, clearing the deck for NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidate Vikram Kakade to win uncontested.
In Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), Karan Sasane, who had filed his nomination with Congress support, withdrew from the race. The fight is now between BJP nominee Prajkt Tanpure and independent Dattatray Pansare.
In Thane, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) fielded Ravindra Phatak. MVA’s Abhijit Pawar (NCP – Sharadchandra Pawar) pulled out, leading to Phatak’s unopposed election.
In the Nashik constituency, held by Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, incumbent Narendra Darade faces rebel Gokul Gite after the BJP’s Ganesh Gite withdrew his nomination.
In Yavatmal, Congress nominee Sahebrao Kamble withdrew a day prior. While the MVA considered backing Sayyad Farooq, he too withdrew, leaving Shiv Sena’s Dushyant Chaturvedi unopposed.
In Sangli-Satara, Shiv Sena’s Tanajirao Patil withdrew his nomination following instructions from Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The main battle is now between Dhairyasheel Kadam (BJP) and Abhaysinh Jagtap (NCP – SP).
In Nagpur (Bypoll), Congress candidate Dinesh Dhole, PWP-backed independent Surendra Lohi, and Rajendra Jangle withdrew. The final contest will see MVA’s Atul Londhe face off against Mahayuti’s Rajiv Potdar.
In Solapur, Jivan Jankar withdrew his candidacy, leaving a direct fight between BJP’s Rajendra Raut and Vasantrao Deshmukh of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
In Nanded, Mahayuti quelled internal rebellion as Pravin Patil Chikhalikar withdrew his papers. The seat will see a direct battle between Ramdas Patil (Congress) and Amar Rajurkar (BJP).
In Bhandara-Gondia, Naresh Ishwarkar of the NCP (Ajit Pawar) remains in the race, while Congress candidates Dilip Bansod and Praful Agrawal withdrew.
In Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, BJP candidate Arun Lakhani won unopposed after Congress candidate Shailesh Kumar Agrawal and independent Sudhir Kothari withdrew.
In Amravati, a triangular contest has emerged between Pravin Pote Patil (BJP), Harshajit Deshmukh (Congress), and Nilesh Vishwakarma (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi – VBA).
In Parbhani-Hingoli, the race features Saeed Khan (Shiv Sena – Shinde), Vivek Navandar (Shiv Sena – UBT), and independent Sushil Deshmukh.
In Dharashiv-Latur-Beed, seven independents withdrew, leaving a direct clash between Basavaraj Patil (BJP) and Mahesh Deshmukh (Congress).
In Jalgaon, multiple withdrawals set up a three-way battle between Nandkishor Mahajan (BJP), Sharad Tayade (Shiv Sena – UBT), and Reshma Kale (Shiv Sena – Shinde).
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, the contest is between Suhas Sirsat (BJP) and Ganesh Lokhande (Shiv Sena – UBT) after Devayani Dongaonkar and Sameer Sattar withdrew.
–IANS
sj/dan