22 June,2026 01:33 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/PTI
The ruling Mahayuti alliance secured a decisive victory in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, winning 16 of the 17 seats for which results were declared on Monday.
The outcome further consolidates the alliance's political position in the state and strengthens its presence in local self-government institutions ahead of future electoral contests.
Polling for the 17 seats was conducted on June 18. However, six Mahayuti candidates had already been elected unopposed before voting took place, giving the ruling alliance a significant head start.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the elections, winning 11 seats. The Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde secured three seats, while the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won two seats.
Among the candidates elected unopposed were Ravindra Phatak from Thane and Dushyant Chaturvedi from Yavatmal representing the Shiv Sena, Aniket Tatkare from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Vikram Kakade from Pune representing the NCP, and Arun Lakhani from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli and Prajakt Tanpure from Ahilyanagar representing the BJP.
The BJP's winning candidates included Suhas Shirshat from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, Avinash Brahmankar from Bhandara-Gondia, Dhairyashil Kadam from Sangli-Satara, Rajendra Raut from Solapur, Basavaraj Patil from Dharashiv-Latur-Beed, Rajiv Potdar from Nagpur, Nandkishor Mahajan from Jalgaon, Pravin Pote from Amravati and Amar Rajurkar from Nanded.
The results underline the BJP's continued organisational strength across multiple regions of Maharashtra and reinforce its dominant position within the ruling coalition.
The only constituency that did not elect an official Mahayuti candidate was Nashik, where Independent candidate and BJP rebel Gokul Gite defeated Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Darade.
Gite's victory is being viewed as a significant setback for the Shiv Sena in the constituency and one of the few surprises in an election otherwise dominated by the ruling alliance.
Political observers noted that despite the loss in Nashik, the overall results remain overwhelmingly favourable for Mahayuti, which succeeded in retaining its influence across most of the contested regions.
Apart from the BJP's strong performance, Shiv Sena candidate Saiyed Khan secured victory from the Parbhani-Hingoli constituency.
The Shiv Sena's overall tally stood at three seats, while the NCP won two seats through its candidates.
The results are expected to provide additional momentum to the ruling alliance as it prepares for upcoming political and electoral challenges in the state.
While the results were largely in favour of the ruling alliance, Opposition leaders maintained that the contest was fought on broader political principles.
Reacting to the outcome, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve said: "We fought well. We are fighting to protect the Constitution."
The Legislative Council election results come at a time when Maharashtra's political landscape is witnessing significant developments, including reports of defections from Shiv Sena (UBT) and renewed competition between the ruling alliance and Opposition parties.
With Mahayuti winning 16 of the 17 seats, the results are being viewed as another indication of the coalition's political dominance in the state and its growing influence in local governance institutions.
(With inputs from ANI)
