MLC polls: 100% voting may lead to an upset in results
Speculation rife; reports talk of cross-voting Osmanabad, Nashik, Raigad
Almost 100 per cent voting was recorded in all six local authority constituencies for the elections to elect Members of Legislative Council on Monday. According to political party insiders, cross-voting by Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) councillors in OsmanabadLatur-Beed constituency could throw upset results. The fight in this constituency was between Pankaja Munde, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and minister for women and child welfare, and Dhananjay Munde, NCP leader and leader of opposition in legislative council. All-in-all the elections to the six local authorities constituencies with near 100 per cent voting indicates heavy cross-voting.
As per official polling percentage
data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday, the overall voting percentage in all the six constituencies was 99.81 percent.
Sources in Beed claimed that about 60-odd disgruntled Congress, NCP corporators had cross-voted in favour of BJP candidate Suresh Dhas in the Osmanabad-Latur-Beed seat. Dhas, on the other hand, claimed he would win by at least 100 to 150 votes.
The source further claimed that
Sena corporators had been instructed to vote in favour of Dhas. Though the conetst was between Dhas and Ashok Jagdale, NCP-backed ndependent candidate. But the real contest was a matter of prestige for estranged cousins — Pankaja and Dhananjay.
In Nashik constituency, although Girish Mahajan, senior BJP leader and minister for medical education argued that the BJP corporators hadn’t been given specific instructions as to whom they should vote for. However, sources claimed that the BJP corporators cast their ballot in favour of Shivaji Sahane, NCP candidate, instead of Narendra Darade, Shiv Sena candidate.
In Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Narayan Rane, Rajya Sabha member of BJP and Maharashtra Swabhimani Paksha (MSP) leader had openly pledged his support to NCP candidate Aniket Tatkare.
In Wardha seat there was a direct contest between Ramdas Ambatkar (BJP) and Indrakumar Saraf (Congress). In Parbhani, the direct contest was between Suresh Deshmukh (Congress) and Viplove Bajoria (Sena). In Amravati, the direct contest is between Pravin Pote-Patil, sitting BJP minister of state for industries and Anil Madhogarhia (Congress).