Mumbai: In an embarrassment for the saffron
alliance, Shiv Sena candidate Anil Parab lost the Maharashtra
Legislative council elections today, while BJP leader Shobha
Phadnavis, though declared winner, failed to garner the
requisite quota.
Phadanvis won in the elimination round even though she
did not cross the quota of 26.19 votes, Returning officer
Anant Kalse told reporters declaring the election results.
However, the polls proved to be a major respite for the
Congress and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in particular, as all
the three official candidates were elected in the first round
itself. The independent candidate Vijay Sawant backed by the
party won in the 5th round on the basis of surplus votes from
Congress and NCP winning candidates.
Former minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar of the NCP got the
highest 32 votes followed by Sanjay Dutt and Dipti Chaudhary
of Congress with 30 votes each. Vinayak Mete of NCP got 29.
Their surplus votes were transferred to Sawant facilitating
his victory.
BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde`s
stakes were high in the election as he had to get his nephew
Dhananjay elected as well as ensure the victory of senior
leader Phadanvis.
Dhananjay won in the second round with surplus votes of
NCP`s Nimbalkar while Phadanvis did not get any surplus votes
except one vote from NCP`s Vinayak Mete.
In the first round, Dipti Chaudhary got 30 votes, Sanjay
Dutt 30, Hussain Dalwai 28, Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar 32, Anil
Parab 21, Shobha Phadanvis 24, Prakash Binsale 29, Dhananjay
Munde 26, Vinayak Mete 29, Diwakar Raote 26, Vijay Sawant 13.
Raote and Munde won with the surplus votes of Nimbalkar
in the second round. In the 3rd round, Sanjay Dutt`s second
preference votes were transferred to Sawant and in the 4th
round, Dipti Chaudhary`s surplus votes went to him helping
Sawant to consolidate his position over Parab and Phadanvis.
In the 5th round, Vinayak Mete`s surplus votes went to
Sawant and only one vote each to Parab and Phadanvis and
Sawant was declared elected after he got the quota of 26.23
votes.
The polling pattern indicate that 13 votes of Raj
Thackeray-led MNS were divided among Congress and NCP making
the victory easy for the candidates of ruling parties.
However, Chavan made it clear that Congress did not seek
help from Raj Thackeray`s MNS to facilitate the victory of the
party candidates.
While Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said MNS
votes were divided between Congress and NCP both.
PTI
