AFTER RS POLLS, CM THACKERAY AND LOP FADNAVIS TO FACE OFF AGAIN

Mumbai: Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is not one to rest on his laurels. Having just succeeded in sending all three BJP candidates from Maharashtra to the Rajya Sabha with nine poached votes from the MVA kitty, he has already scheduled a strategy meeting on Monday to chalk out plans election to six seats in the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad slated June 20.

While the euphoria of the six Maharashtra Rajya Sabha elections--in which the BJP won an unexpected three seats, even as the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had to settle for one each-- still carries on into the weekend, the BJP does not fool itself about its Vidhan Parishad prospects.

The party had enough votes to elect two RS Members of Parliament from its quota and 30 additional votes lying at its disposal. So, it was logical for the BJP to make a bid for a third candidate rather than letting the extra votes go to waste--and did so in style, breaking nine MVA-supporting MLAs who voted for its third candidate.

In the Vidhan Parishad elections, the BJP has fielded five candidates despite having a strength of its own 106 MLAs and seven independent MLAs (totalling 113 votes). Around 26 votes will be required to ensure victory for each of the six available seats. Realistically, the BJP can ensure four candidates find entry into the Maharashtra State Legislative Council. Yet, as in the RS polls, the party has fielded five candidates of its own--Pravin Darekar, Ram Shinde, Srikant Bhartiya, Uma Khapre and Prasad Lad- -and backed the independent candidature of Sadabhau Khot as well.

A senior BJP leader told First India, “We will wait and see how many persons remain in the fray by June 13 (the last date for withdrawing candidatures), and will announce our plans only after that.”

Meanwhile, the MVA alliance has fielded Sachin Ahir and Aamsha Padvi (from Shiv Sena), Chandrakant Handore and Bhai Jagtap (from Congress) and Ramaraje Naik Nimbalkar and Eknath Khadse (from the NCP).