Former Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Sadabhau Khot on Thursday filed his nomination papers for the state legislative council elections as a BJP-backed Independent candidate. With Khot’s entry, there will be 13 contenders for 10 council seats that will go to the polls on June 20.
Political observers said BJP’s move could create panic among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders over cross-voting as the elections will be held on the secret ballot method. Split in MVA votes could lead to uncertainty in the ruling coalition with repercussions on the state government.
However, MVA leaders are confident of their numbers and said they would win the six seats.
Shiv Sena leader and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said it was an attempt to create chaos, but the MVA would prevail. “They can put up a sixth candidate or a seventh one. They merely want to create chaos and show their money power. The MVA will have the [six] seats. Let them field candidates; they might have their calculations, but we also have our strength.”
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil also expressed confidence in the victory of the five BJP candidates and the party-backed Independent. “We are confident of winning the fifth seat. We won’t be surprised if Sadabhau, who is contesting Independently with BJP’s support, gets elected,” he said after a meeting with leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis at the former CM’s official residence.
Patil, who accompanied Khot to file his nomination, said, “BJP is in the fray for five of its candidates and one Independent.”
“The legislators would vote for Sadabhau, who always stood up for the farmers, or injustice against the people,” he said, adding BJP would get votes from MVA legislators as well.
Khot, who was the minister of state for agriculture in the Fadnavis government between 2014 and 2019, said, “More candidates in the ring means the legislators have an alternative. I would seek support from all legislators – no matter which party they belong to – as they are the voters.”
The MVA, which consists of Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress, has fielded two candidates each – Sachin Ahir and Aamsha Padvi from Sena, Eknath Khadse and Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar from the NCP, and Bhai (Ashok) Jagtap and Chandrakant Handore from Congress.
On Wednesday, BJP announced the candidature of five people – Pravin Darekar, Ram Shinde, Shrikant Bharatiya, Uma Khapre, and Prasad Lad. Khapre, Khadse, Nimbalkar, Handore, and Jagtap filed their nominations at Vidhan Bhavan on Thursday. Nimbalkar is the chairman of the legislative council. NCP’s Shivajirao Garje also filed his nomination as a dummy candidate.
Khadse said NCP chief Sharad Pawar stood with him in the difficult times. “I was away from politics for three years in BJP after being removed from the ministerial council. People were of the view that my political career was over. But at that time, the NCP chief came to my rescue, inducted me into the party, and now gave me the candidature for the council polls,” he told reporters.
Khadse joined the NCP in October 2020. He was also nominated for the post of member of legislative council under Governor’s quota, which is still pending with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Nana Patole, Maharashtra Congress president, said, “We are sure that both our candidates will win the elections and will get an opportunity to work for the people.”
Khadse also commented on Pankaja Munde who was expecting a party ticket for the council polls. He said Pankaja’s father Gopinath Munde and uncle Pramod Mahajan sacrificed their entire lives to strengthen the party and Pankaja had a presence in the entire state. “Despite this, BJP chose to ignore her which is unfortunate. Even if it is BJP’s decision, I’m unhappy because we share family relations,” the former BJP leader said.
Thirteen candidates, including the dummy candidate, have filed nomination papers for the 10 seats in the upper house of the state legislature. A candidate will need 27 votes to win. Looking at the current strength, BJP can elect four members, while the MVA constituents could bag the six seats.
As the vote is cast through a secret ballot, there is a sense of unease in the MVA camp. The MVA allies are likely to keep their legislators sequestered at hotels after the Rajya Sabha polls end on Friday. The role of 29 smaller parties’ MLAs and Independent legislators will be crucial.