The BJP has scored big in the biennial legislative council polls by retaining the Nagpur seat and defeating the Shiv Sena in Akola-Buldhana-Washim, winning four out of the six seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had put up a combined force against the opposition party, but did not achieve the desired result.

Early this month, the agreement between the parties turned four seats into no-contest ones, with the BJP getting two and the Sena and Congress retaining one each. However, the Nagpur and Akola-Buldhana-Washim contests evoked great interest. The former one became quite dramatic because of the Congress’s decision to withdraw its official candidate on the eve of polling in order to back an independent. The latter contest became a very prestigious one because it involved the Sena’s three-time sitting MLC, who ultimately lost to the chagrin of the principal ruling party.