Maharashtra MLC polls: BJP deals another blow to MVA as it wins all seats it contested

Close on the heels of Rajya Sabha polls, the saffron opposition BJP gave yet another blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government when it won all the seats it contested in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections.

The BJP, which contested 5 seats won all of them -- the winners being Pravin Darekar, Prof Ram Shinde, Uma Khapre, Shrikant Bharatiya and Prasad Lad.

The MVA contested 6 seats, but could manage to win 5 seats reflecting a trend of cross-voting.

The two Shiv Sena candidates who won are Sachin Ahir and Amashya Padvi, while the two NCP nominees Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar and Eknath Khadse made it to the winners list.

While Congress candidate Bhai Jagtap won the polls, his colleague Chandrakant Handore lost the elections.

The four BJP candidates - Darekar, Shinde, Khapre and Bharatiya, two Sena candidates - Ahir and Padvi and two NCP nominees - Naik-Nimbalkar and Khadse won the poll in the first round.

In the second and third rounds, the contest boiled down to BJP’s Lad and two Congress candidates - Jagtap, the Mumbai Congress president , and Handore.

Lad, a close aide of former chief minister and now leader of opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis, managed to win, shocking the MVA camp.

Finally, Handore, former Mumbai mayor and ex-minister, lost the polls -- though he was the first candidate.

"We were confident that all the five BJP nominees will win and we won," said Fadnavis, adding that the results show that there is tremendous resentment against the MVA government.