Of the 17 Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) seats going to polls, six candidates have already been elected unopposed after the withdrawal of nominations ended on Thursday. However, the remaining 11 seats have turned into high-stakes contests, giving the leadership of both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) sleepless nights due to rebellion in some seats. Voting for the remaining seats will be held on June 18, while counting of votes is scheduled for June 22.

Rebels in MVA, Mahayuti

On the last day for withdrawal of nominations, Shiv Sena (UBT) suffered a setback in the Konkan division after its candidate withdrew from the race. The development came after he was seen with Nitesh Rane, a leader from the Mahayuti (BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction) and claimed he was unable to secure the required support and signatures from MVA, comprising Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP, for his nomination.