Mumbai, facing the threat of a cross-vote, political parties in Maharashtra are hosting dinners and arranging hotel stays for their MLAs in a bid to keep their flock together ahead of the July 12 biennial elections to the Legislative Council, where 12 candidates are in the fight for 11 seats.
Eleven members of the Upper House of the state legislature will retire on July 27 and these high-stakes elections, in which MLAs form the electoral college, will be filled with vacancies.
Leader of opposition in the assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress, hosted a dinner for MLAs from his party at a Mumbai hotel on Thursday.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), will hold an interaction with his party's MLAs over dinner at a five-star hotel in central Mumbai on Wednesday night.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is shifting its MLAs to a five-star hotel in the suburbs.
Legislators from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena gathered at the Vidhan Bhavan complex on Wednesday morning for a meeting ahead of the council elections. The BJP legislative party also called a strategy meeting of its members at the Vidhan Bhavan premises during the day.
Eleven MLCs: Manisha Kayande and Anil Parab of Shiv Sena, Pradyna Satav and Wajahat Mirza of Congress, Abdullah Durrani of NCP, Vijay Girkar, Nilay Naik, Ramesh Patil, Ramrao Patil of BJP, Mahadev Jankar and Peasants of Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) . and Jayant Patil of the Workers' Party (PWP), will complete their six-year term on July 27.
The 288-member legislative assembly is the electoral college for the polls and its current number is 274.
Each winning candidate would need a quota of 23 first preference votes.
The BJP is the largest party in the assembly with 103 members, followed by Shiv Sena (38), NCP (42), Congress (37), Shiv Sena (UBT) 15 and NCP (SP) 10.
Other parties with a presence in the lower house are Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (3), Samajwadi Party (2), AIMIM (2), Prahar Janshakti Party (2), MNS, CPI(M), Swabhimani Paksh, Jansurajya Shakti Party, RSP, Krantikari Shetkari Paksh and PWP (one each). Additionally, there are 13 independent MLAs.
The BJP has fielded five candidates: Pankaja Munde, Yogesh Tilekar, Parinay Phuke, Amit Gorkhe Sadabhau Khot, and its ally Shiv Sena, two: former Lok Sabha MPs Krupal Tumane and Bhavana Gawali.
The NCP has given tickets to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar, while the Congress has re-nominated Pradnya Satav for another term.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party president Uddhav Thackeray.
The NCP (SP) supports PWP's Jayant Patil.
Last week, Thackeray expressed confidence that all three candidates of the opposition MVA, comprising the Sena (UBT), Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and some smaller parties, would emerge victorious.
When it was pointed out that the opposition bloc does not have the numbers in the assembly to ensure the victory of its third candidate, the former prime minister commented: "We would not have done it (introduce the third candidate) if we were not confident (of victorious). "
The MVA does not have numbers on its side to elect the third candidate, but is confident that some MLAs from the NCP and Shiv Sena, both Mahayuti constituents, will vote in its favour.
In recent days, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has stated that some MPs from the rival side are in contact with the opposition party for a possible return.
Eleven members of the Upper House of the state legislature will retire on July 27 and these high-stakes elections, in which MLAs form the electoral college, will be filled with vacancies.
Leader of opposition in the assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress, hosted a dinner for MLAs from his party at a Mumbai hotel on Thursday.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), will hold an interaction with his party's MLAs over dinner at a five-star hotel in central Mumbai on Wednesday night.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is shifting its MLAs to a five-star hotel in the suburbs.
Legislators from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena gathered at the Vidhan Bhavan complex on Wednesday morning for a meeting ahead of the council elections. The BJP legislative party also called a strategy meeting of its members at the Vidhan Bhavan premises during the day.
Eleven MLCs: Manisha Kayande and Anil Parab of Shiv Sena, Pradyna Satav and Wajahat Mirza of Congress, Abdullah Durrani of NCP, Vijay Girkar, Nilay Naik, Ramesh Patil, Ramrao Patil of BJP, Mahadev Jankar and Peasants of Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) . and Jayant Patil of the Workers' Party (PWP), will complete their six-year term on July 27.
The 288-member legislative assembly is the electoral college for the polls and its current number is 274.
Each winning candidate would need a quota of 23 first preference votes.
The BJP is the largest party in the assembly with 103 members, followed by Shiv Sena (38), NCP (42), Congress (37), Shiv Sena (UBT) 15 and NCP (SP) 10.
Other parties with a presence in the lower house are Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (3), Samajwadi Party (2), AIMIM (2), Prahar Janshakti Party (2), MNS, CPI(M), Swabhimani Paksh, Jansurajya Shakti Party, RSP, Krantikari Shetkari Paksh and PWP (one each). Additionally, there are 13 independent MLAs.
The BJP has fielded five candidates: Pankaja Munde, Yogesh Tilekar, Parinay Phuke, Amit Gorkhe Sadabhau Khot, and its ally Shiv Sena, two: former Lok Sabha MPs Krupal Tumane and Bhavana Gawali.
The NCP has given tickets to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar, while the Congress has re-nominated Pradnya Satav for another term.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party president Uddhav Thackeray.
The NCP (SP) supports PWP's Jayant Patil.
Last week, Thackeray expressed confidence that all three candidates of the opposition MVA, comprising the Sena (UBT), Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and some smaller parties, would emerge victorious.
When it was pointed out that the opposition bloc does not have the numbers in the assembly to ensure the victory of its third candidate, the former prime minister commented: "We would not have done it (introduce the third candidate) if we were not confident (of victorious). "
The MVA does not have numbers on its side to elect the third candidate, but is confident that some MLAs from the NCP and Shiv Sena, both Mahayuti constituents, will vote in its favour.
In recent days, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has stated that some MPs from the rival side are in contact with the opposition party for a possible return.