Maharashtra Legislative Council polls: BJP's Suresh Dhas declared winner from Osmanabad-Beed-Latur MLC seat

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MUMBAI: BJP candidate Suresh Dhas on Tuesday won the Osmanabad-Beed-Latur seat which went to polls along with five other Legislative Council seats in Maharashtra. The election result came as a setback to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its leader Dhananjay Munde.

The electoral contest had turned into a prestige battle between BJP leader and Maharashtra Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde and her cousin NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who’s the Leader of the Opposition in the Council. The showdown saw Suresh Dhas take on Ashok Jagdale, an independent. The NCP had fielded Ramesh Karad, a former BJP worker and a close associate of Pankaja Munde but he withdrew his nomination on the last day.

Unable to name a new candidate, the NCP declared support for Jagdale. The other five seats which went to poll were Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Nashik, Parbhani-Hingoli, Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli and Amaravati.

Former minister Suresh Dhas was suspended for six years for indulging in the "anti-party activities" by NCP. In the past, apparently a group of NCP candidates in Beed, led by Dhas, had indirectly supported the BJP to prevent Dhananjay Munde, from taking credit for the party’s victory.