MLAS sent to hotels ahead of MLC polls

ABOUT 220

ROOMS AT FOUR DIFFERENT FIVESTAR HOTELS HAVE BEEN BOOKED BY THE PARTIES

MUMBAI: All four major political parties in Maharashtra have lodged their legislators in fivestar hotels to prevent any bid of poaching by rivals, days ahead of the elections to the state’s legislative council on June 20, people familiar with the developments said on Saturday.

A total of 11 candidates are in the fray for the 10 seats up for grabs, with the Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — allies in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — each fielding two candidates, while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated five members. About 220 rooms at four different five-star hotels have been booked by the parties for two to three days, functionaries from the four parties said. “BJP has kept its MLAS at Taj Vivanta (erstwhile President); NCP has chosen Trident at Nariman Point; Shiv Sena has hired rooms at Westin located near Powai lake while the Congress is keeping its MLAS at Four Seasons hotel in Worli,” one of the functionaries cited above said, requesting anonymity.

Barring their ministers, the MVA parties have collectively booked 125 rooms (Congress 35, Sena 50 and NCP 40). The BJP has booked about 100 rooms in the Cuffe Parade hotel, the functionaries said. “More rooms would be added to accommodate central observers of national parties such as Congress and BJP,” functionary quoted above said.