Maharashtra Legislative Council Elections: Cong seeks ban on BJP MLA who shot Sena leader from voting

BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad. Pic/Navneet Barhate

Congress has urged the returning officer of the biennial elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council to prohibit BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, accused of firing upon a Shiv Sena leader inside a police station, from casting his vote, reported PTI.

In a letter to the returning officer, Abhijit Vanzari, the representative of Congress candidate Pradnya Satav, said Gaikwad is in judicial custody and cannot vote under Section 62(5) of Representation of the People Act, 1951.

"We hear Gaikwad will be coming to Vidhan Bhavan to vote. Please stop him from doing so illegally, and protect constitutional values without coming under any pressure. Or else, we will have to take legal recourse," the letter said, reported PTI.

Gaikwad represents the Kalyan East assembly constituency. He was arrested in February for allegedly opening fire on a Shiv Sena leader Mahesh Gaikwad inside a police station at Ulhasnagar in Thane district over a land dispute.

Since the incident, the BJP leader has been in judicial custody.

Voting is underway on Friday for 11 seats of the upper house of the state legislature with 12 candidates in the fray. Polling is being held at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai between 9 am and 4 pm.

Maharashtra assembly elections: Seat-sharing talks in Maha Vikas Aghadi underway, Congress likely to field candidates on maximum seats

As the Maharashtra assembly elections are slated to be held later this year, discussions on seat-sharing in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance consisting of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-SP, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) among others are underway, reported news agency ANI.

The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled later this year to elect 288 members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Earlier on Tuesday, the top leaders of the three major allies -- Congress, NCP-SP, and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- held a meeting and deliberated on the seat-sharing formula, reported ANI.

According to the sources from the Congress, the party is likely to contest 120-130 assembly seats; the Shiv Sena (UBT) 90-100 seats while the NCP-SP is likely to contest 75-80 seats in the coming Maharashtra assembly elections, reported ANI.

The Maharashtra Congress Unit is set to hold a two-day meeting to discuss seat-sharing, starting today.

Earlier, after the conclusion of the Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party core committee on June 29, party state president Ashish Shelar said that the BJP will contest the assembly polls with its Mahayuti ally partners, and a road map for the same was decided in the meeting.

Shelar said that a proposal was passed appreciating the budget of Maharashtra, which covers the welfare of all segments of society, including farmers, youth, women, etc.

"BJP will contest assembly polls with its Mahayuti ally partners and a road map for the same was decided in the meeting. No organisational changes are to be made in the state unit of the BJP. Also, a proposal was passed appreciating yesterday's budget of Maharashtra, which covers the welfare of all segments of society, including farmers, youth, women, etc. A clear road map for contesting and winning Assembly polls was discussed and finalised," the BJP leader said, reported ANI.

The Lok Sabha polls 2024 have given a boost to the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) winning seven seats, the Congress 13, and the NCP-SP one, taking the total tally of the alliance 17, reported ANI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena had contested in an alliance. The BJP won 105 seats while the Sena won 56 seats. The undivided NCP had won 44 seats while the Congress had won 44 seats.