BJP outsmarts MVA, wins 6th seat

The Opposition BJP in Maharashtra, whose move of fielding a candidate for the sixth seat of the Rajya Sabha necessitated a contest after over two decades, on Saturday gave a jolt to the ruling three-party combine by registering an emphatic win, which is being attributed to 17 surplus votes of Independent MLAs and those from smaller parties. Political analysts said that pulling off a win this way required a deep understanding of the arithmetic of counting of the electoral college and preferential voting pattern.

They also credited senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for his micro-level planning and strategising after his refusal to allow the biennial elections to the Upper House of Parliament to take place without a fight. The party’s stunning victory was also acknowledged by veteran politician and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Who said Fadnavis performed a “miracle” by turning the Independent MLAs in favour of his party. It had sufficient number of votes only to ensure the victory of its two candidates.

The bitter contest for the seats of the Rajya Sabha saw three candidates of the BJP. They were Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonde and Dhananjay Mahadik – winning. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, NCP’s Praful Patel and Congress’ Imran Pratapgarhi also came out victorious. The contest was for the sixth seat – between BJP’s Mahadik and Sena’s Sanjay Pawar, who lost. It is to be noted that the BJP has 106 MLAs in the State. However, the sum of first preference votes – Goyal (48), Bonde (48) and Mahadik (27) comes to 123 votes.