Maharashtra MLC polls: BJP wins 5 as promised, Congress upset

In nail biting finish to the MLC polls the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP kept the promise of winning all five seats it contested and the Congress lost its number one candidate but won the otherThe Congresss two candidates Chandrakant Handore and Bhai Jagtap and BJPs fifth nominee Prasad Lad were in the race for the ninth and tenth seat Handore who got more first preference votes than his party colleague Bhai Jagtap bit the dust BJPs fifth candidate a matter of prestige Prasad Lad romped home along with JagtapThe BJP won four seats in the first round It won the fifth seat as well despite not having additional votes The Nationalist Congress Party NCP and Shiv Sena won two each NCP got more than its Assembly strengthCross voting by Congress Sena MLAsThe outcome also gave credence to cross voting especially from the Congress and Sena MLAs BJP claimed that the independents small parties and restive MLAs from the ruling parties voted for its nomineesThe polling was necessitated because there were 11 candidates in the fray for 10 seats All parties took utmost care after the Rajya Sabha elections in which the BJP won the third seat in a dramatic fashionCross voting was expected in the MLC polls which are held in a secret ballot which sprang a surprise for the Congress because the partys total first preference votes were three less than 44 which is its strength in the Assembly The Sena too polled three less than its total strength BJP said it got at least 12 Sena and its associate members votes CM Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting of MLAs on TuesdayBJP gains more than RSThe BJP claimed it has got 134 first preference votes which was much more than its Assembly number of 106 and the count it had in the Rajya Sabha polls BJPs Bharatiya and Shinde polled the highest 30 votes each and their second preference votes were counted first and transferred to their fifth nominee Prasad Lad who closely fought with Congressman Bhai JagtapThe Shiv Senas Sachin Ahir and Amshva Padvi the NCPs Eknath Khadse and Ramraje Nimbalkar the BJPs Pravin Darekar Ram Shinde Shrikant Bharatiya and Uma Khapre won in the first round after getting a required quota of first preference votes 2573 Handore and Jagtap and BJP Lad went into the second round Handore got 22 first preference votes Jagtap 19 and Lad 17Earlier the counting was delayed by two hours after the BJP and Congress raised objection over some votes Two votes one each of Nimbalkar and Khapre were decided invalid Objection was taken over the BJPs two ailing MLAs act of seeking help to put the ballot in the box but dismissed The MLAs who are fighting a serious ailment had travelled from Pune to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections as wellOpposition leader Devendra Fadnavis said the results have yet again proved unrest in the MVA government Many NonBJP MLAs have voted for us big time It shows that the MLAs are not happy with their own government he saidWinners in first roundBJP Ram Shinde Pravin Darekar Uma Khapare Shrikant BharatiyaNCP Eknath Khadse Ramraje NimbalkarShiv Sena Sachin Ahir Amasha PadviWinners in the second roundBJP Prasad LadCongress Bhai Jagtap