Praful Patel: At least five Independents voted against MVA

Praful Patel, a senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP, said on Saturday that no MLA from the NCP, Congress, or Shiv Sena cast a cross-vote in the Maharashtra Rajya Sabha elections, which saw Shiv Sena’s second nominee defeated by a Bharatiya Janata Party challenger.

What Praful Patel said in Nagpur?

He informed reporters at Nagpur airport that the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress, has failed to get four-five votes from Independent MLAs.

Patel ruled any cross-voting in the hotly contested elections, saying that all NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena MLAs voted along party lines.

“There was not a single cross-vote from these three parties’ MLAs,” he explained.

Why Sanjay Pawar lost the sixth seat to BJP?

When asked why the MVA failed to elect Sanjay Pawar, the Sena’s second nominee, to the sixth seat, the former Union minister cited a number of circumstances, including the invalidation of an MLA’s vote (of Shiv Sena).

“In addition, NCP leaders Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh were unable to vote” (as they failed to get relief from the Bombay high court). When all of these factors are included, as well as the votes cast by Independents and MLAs from tiny parties, a discrepancy (shortfall) of four to five votes emerges (in the MVA tally). In contrast to our predictions, we may not have received votes from four to five Independents,” he continued.

BJP’s Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonde and Dhananjay Mahadik emerged victorious

The BJP’s Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde, and Dhananjay Mahadik emerged victorious in the closely fought elections, which were announced in the early hours of Saturday.

Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena, Praful Patel of the NCP, and Imran Pratapgarhi of the Congress were also winners.

The race was for the sixth seat, which was won by the BJP’s Mahadik and lost by the Sena’s Pawar.

The initial preferential vote quota for each contender was 41.

Only 285 of the 288 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly voted, with the exception of Deshmukh and Malik, who are both in jail for money laundering, and one seat that is vacant due to the death of an MLA.

After the poll commission advised the Maharashtra Rajya Sabha election returning officer to reject Shiv Sena legislator Suhas Kande’s vote, the counting of votes began after 1 a.m.