Maharashtra: BJP 11 votes short to topple MVA govt, Eknath Shinde, 10 Shiv Sena MLAs lodged in Surat hotel

The political situation in Maharashtra is getting all eyeballs after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the state legislative council elections, on Monday, bagging 20 extra votes. The party is now 11 short to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance government in the state. As per the latest reports, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra urban development minister Eknath Shinde, along with 11 party MLAs, have gone ‘out of reach’ since Monday’s polls. The step indicates a possibility of a rebellion within the party. Media in Surat, Gujarat say that 11 Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde are lodged in a Surat hotel. The security around the hotel has been intensified. The development comes amid allegations of cross-voting by some Shiv Sena MLAs. How many seats did BJP win? The results of the Maharashtra legislative council elections have put the Uddhav Thackeray government in a danger zone. The BJP has bagged 134 votes against the majority of 145 in 288 members of the state Assembly. In this election, Maha Vikas Aghadi support base has eroded badly from 169 votes to 151 only. Total of 285 Maharashtra MLAs had cast their votes while during the counting of two votes each one of BJP and NCP were disqualified due to overwriting the preference numbers. Setback for Maha Vikas Aghadi In the high-octane Maharashtra Legislative elections, Maha Vikas Aghadi faced the major setback of cross-voting of its alliance partners MLAs to BJP. According to the election data, two of Congress candidates - Bahi Jagtap and Chandrakant Handore - together secured 41 votes against the party’s official 44 votes. This shows that three Congress MLAs crossed-voted. Shiv Sena has 55 MLAs and has support of seven independent and smaller parties. The party had fixed the 32 votes quota for each candidate but in the outcome of the election, it got only 26 each votes. Following the MLC poll results, Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, suspecting cross-voting, convened an urgent meeting of all party MLAs on Tuesday. All the party MLAs have been asked to remain present. Around 20 MLAs are suspected to have cross-voted. Advantage BJP The BJP is short of mere 11 votes to win the majority in the 288 member Maharashtra Assembly. With Eknath Shinde and 10 other Shiv Sana MLAs lodged in a hotel in Gujarat, it is learnt that they are upset with the poll results. This signals a major crisis for the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra. As per reports, Shinde is expected to address the media this afternoon from Surat. BJP won on all five seats it had contested. From the Maha Vikas Aghadi partners, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena won two seats each, while Congress could only win one seat. A total of 11 candidates were in the fray for the 10 seats. The BJP had fielded five candidates — Pravin Darekar, Shrikant Bharatiya, Ram Shinde, Uma Khapre, and Prasad Lad, all of whom won. Sachin Ahir and Aamsha Padvi from Sena, Eknath Khadse, and Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar from the NCP were also among the winners. In the 288-member Maharashtra House, the Opposition BJP has 106 MLAs, Shiv Sena-55, Congress-44, and NCP-52. Smaller parties and Independents account for 25 MLAs in the House. The NCP on Monday accused the opposition BJP of indulging in horse-trading and working secret pacts in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls. The Shiv Sena too alleged that the BJP won only by misusing its powers. Congress, meanwhile, said no one can be blamed if its MLAs did not vote for Handore. All the five candidates of the BJP secured victory. Two candidates each of the Sena and NCP also emerged victorious. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.