Opposition alliance of Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra is set to contest on all 17 seats for the upcoming Legislative Council elections in Maharashtra. The numbers are tilted in favour of the ruling alliance of Mahayuti in this indirect election. The ruling alliance is still in talks over the seat distribution formula, as differences over a few seats continue. On a day when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar were in Delhi, they said that the differences will be resolved in Mumbai itself.
CM Fadnavis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi after the State leaders attended a high-level review meeting chaired by Mr. Shah about sugarcane and onion farmers.
“We have almost reached an agreement. There are differences in only two seats. We have insisted to Shiv Sena that either Nashik or Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar should come our way. NCP has sought Pune from us. We will resolve all these things in Mumbai,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. He also added that the NCP had not demanded the Finance Department from him so far. This fuelled more speculations on whether the NCP will get the finance department back after the demise of Ajit Pawar.
Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said that her party had sought three seats, and that her party expected that those seats where they have a majority. “The ongoing talks are positive,” she said.
Of the 17 seats, the BJP is likely to contest on 11 seats, Shiv Sena on four and NCP on two. The BJP had earlier said that it will contest 12 seats. Eknath Shinde had earlier demanded seven seats.
Meanwhile, the Maha Vikas Aghadi held its first meeting on the Legislative Council election in Mumbai on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by NCP SP leaders Supriya Sule and Shashikant Shinde, Shiv Sena UBT leaders Anil Parab and Milind Narvekar, and Congress leader Harshawardhan Sapkal. Another round of meetings will be held on May 29.
The alliance leaders refused to share any details about the formula. While speaking to journalists, Mr. Sapkal claimed that the Mahayuti had started distributing money to the elected corporators to fuel horse trading. He alleged that ₹10 lakh had been promised to each corporator and that ₹5 lakh were given in advance.
The elections to 16 Legislative Council seats will be held on June 18. The last date for filing nominations is June 1. The candidates can withdraw from the poll race by June 4. The counting of votes will take place on June 22.
Published - May 28, 2026 01:25 am IST
state politics / politics / Maharashtra
Source: The Hindu - India News
