BJP has decided to accommodate two of its pre-poll alliance partners for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections slated for June 3.
The party announced that Vinayak Mete of Shiv Sangram party and Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha will contest the polls, besides Pravin Darekar, who quit MNS and joined BJP last year.
It had already announced candidature of its state unit functionary Sujit Singh Thakur.
With 10 seats in the Upper House of the Maharashtra State Legislature to be elected by MLAs are up for grabs, political parties have begun hectic preparation to win maximum number of seats.
The 11th member will be elected by representatives of civic bodies in Thane district.
The ruling BJP, with 122 members in the Assembly, is set to win four seats comfortably. Shiv Sena, which has 62 MLAs, has already declared candidature of two of its ministers Subhash Desai and Divakar Raote.
While NCP has fielded the Leader of Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde and the Council chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, the Congress nominee is former chief minister Narayan Rane, who lost last two Assembly polls.
Five-time MLC Vasant Davkhare (NCP), the deputy chairman of the Council, is facing a tough challenge from Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Phatak in Thane.
The LC election, slated for June 3, will have all elected representatives from local civic bodies, including Zilla Parishad, municipal corporation and municipal council, in Thane district as voters.
Going by the numbers, Phatak enjoys clear lead over Davkhare. Of the total 1,050 voters, the Sena and BJP have 507 votes.
Other parties including Congress, NCP, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), Samajwadi Party, and MNS have a combined 458 votes. The BVA has declared support for Davkhare.
