Mumbai (Maharashtra): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced three candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council by-elections on Sunday, following approval from the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC). The selected candidates are Sandip Diwakarrao Joshi, Sanjay Kishanrao Kenekar, and Dadarao Yadavrao Keche.
The by-elections are being held to fill vacant seats in the Legislative Council, as five seats became available after the sitting MLCs won in last year’s state assembly election. The Election Commission of India announced the bypolls for these seats on March 3. Voting will be carried out by the sitting MLAs, and the vote counting will take place on March 27.
In the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a significant victory, winning 235 seats, with the BJP emerging as the largest party with 132 seats. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also made notable gains, securing 57 and 41 seats, respectively. In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance faced a major defeat, with Congress winning only 16 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) securing 20 seats, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) only 10 seats.