Mumbai Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday demanded that the polling time for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections be extended by one hour due to heavy rain in Mumbai.
Biennial elections for 11 council seats are scheduled to be held at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai between 9 am and 4 pm.
Sena MP Anil Desai told reporters that they will request the state election official to extend the voting hours by an hour as it has been raining heavily in Mumbai since Thursday night.
There are 12 candidates running for the 11 seats in the upper house of the state legislature, where the current 274 members of the legislative assembly form the electoral college.
Early on Friday, NCP MLAs led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar left their hotel in a Mumbai suburb and boarded a private bus to reach the Vidhan Bhavan complex to cast their votes.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed BJP MLAs at a city hotel on Thursday evening, where Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde was also present.
The leaders urged the MLAs not to take the council polls lightly and ensure that no vote is invalidated.
Eleven members of the Legislative Council (MLC) 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). Another ally of Mahayuti, the NCP, has gifted tickets to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar.
The Congress has re-nominated Pradnya Satav for another term, while its Maha Vikas Aghadi partner Sena (UBT) has fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party president Thackeray.
The MVA's third constituent, the NCP (SP), did not field its candidate and instead extended its support to PWP's Jayant Patil.
Congress has excess votes since it has only presented one candidate.
Fear of cross-voting is prevalent in both the ruling Mahayuti bloc and the opposition MVA.
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 (SP) has claimed that some MLAs from the rival camp led by Ajit Pawar are in touch with the opposition party for a possible comeback.
Biennial elections for 11 council seats are scheduled to be held at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai between 9 am and 4 pm.
Sena MP Anil Desai told reporters that they will request the state election official to extend the voting hours by an hour as it has been raining heavily in Mumbai since Thursday night.
There are 12 candidates running for the 11 seats in the upper house of the state legislature, where the current 274 members of the legislative assembly form the electoral college.
Early on Friday, NCP MLAs led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar left their hotel in a Mumbai suburb and boarded a private bus to reach the Vidhan Bhavan complex to cast their votes.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed BJP MLAs at a city hotel on Thursday evening, where Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde was also present.
The leaders urged the MLAs not to take the council polls lightly and ensure that no vote is invalidated.
Eleven members of the Legislative Council (MLC) 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). Another ally of Mahayuti, the NCP, has gifted tickets to Shivajirao Garje and Rajesh Vitekar.
The Congress has re-nominated Pradnya Satav for another term, while its Maha Vikas Aghadi partner Sena (UBT) has fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party president Thackeray.
The MVA's third constituent, the NCP (SP), did not field its candidate and instead extended its support to PWP's Jayant Patil.
Congress has excess votes since it has only presented one candidate.
Fear of cross-voting is prevalent in both the ruling Mahayuti bloc and the opposition MVA.
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 (SP) has claimed that some MLAs from the rival camp led by Ajit Pawar are in touch with the opposition party for a possible comeback.
