Maharashtra MLC polls: Mahayuti sweeps legislative council polls

The Mahayuti Alliance on Monday (June 22, 2026) secured victory in 16 out of 17 seats in the Legislative Council. The opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi, failed to open its account and won zero seats.

Also Read: Biennial Maharashtra Local Body Elections Record 99.02% Voter Turnout

BJP rebel Gokul Gite won as an independent candidate in Nashik against a Shiv Sena candidate. The single seat brought the differences in the ruling alliance to the fore, with the defeated Shiv Sena candidate accusing the BJP and other alliance partners of working against him.

Meanwhile, Gokul Gite said he will discuss with his party workers if there is an offer to join Shiv Sena. “It is my workers who helped vote me to power. I cannot take any decision without consulting them,” he told reporters in Nashik on Monday (June 22, 2026).

The opposition took shots at the Shiv Sena over its defeat in the alliance. Congress leader Satej Bunty Patil warned the Shiv Sena that the BJP was in a position to betray its allies, that the Shiv Sena had been rewarded for its sacrifice in Jalgaon.

In Jalgaon, the Shiv Sena took a backseat to support the BJP candidate who won the election. Local Shiv Sena leaders expressed their displeasure after the results, adding that their candidate would have won had they not pulled out to support the BJP candidate. “The BJP has defeated the Shiv Sena candidate,” said Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena UBT leader.

When asked to react, Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “It’s so funny I can’t speak. This is just a teaser,” he added, mimicking Eknath Shinde.

Of the 17 seats that went to the polls, it was necessary to vote in 11 seats. Six seats had already been declared uncontested earlier.

The leaders who were elected unopposed were BJP’s Arun Lakhani from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli and Prajakt Tanpure from Ahilyanagar; NCP nominees Vikram Kakade from Pune and Aniket Tatkare from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg; and Shiv Sena candidates Ravindra Phatak from Thane and Dushyant Chaturvedi from Yavatmal.

On June 18, elections were held for the following 11 constituencies: Solapur, Jalgaon, Sangli, Satara, Nanded, Bhandara-Gondia, Nashik, Amravati, Osmanabad, Latur (Dharashiv), Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Aurangabad, Jalna (Chhahhatrapati. Sambhajinagtrapati.

In Nanded Shiv Sena UBT expelled its candidate Krishna Nagesh Patil Ashtikar for anti-party activities. This was after he lost to BJP candidate Amar Rajurkar, who won the constituency for the third time in a row, celebrating a hat-trick. “The hard work of the candidate and party workers has been rewarded. Thanks to Devendra Fadnavis, Narendra Modi, Nitin Nabin and Amit Shah for approving the name of the party worker,” said senior BJP leader from Nanded Ashok Chavan.

Nashik’s Riddle

In Nashik, the drama over seat allocation was evident from the start. Gokul Gite, a BJP rebel, filed his nomination as an independent candidate. After leaders from the BJP and Shiv Sena intervened, he declared that he would not campaign in the elections. The decision to withdraw came after the deadline for withdrawing nominations had expired, so his name remained on the electoral roll.

He said after his victory Monday that he stopped campaigning the day he pledged, but it was his workers who elected him. This led to a war of words between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, with Sena candidate Narendra Darade accusing BJP leader Girish Mahajan of supporting the rebel candidate.

Shiv Sena leaders also expressed their displeasure. “How did this happen? We will have to consider it a bit. This will disrupt relations,” Maharashtra state minister Sanjay Shirsat said. Another Shiv Sena minister, Pratap Sarnaik, said that Gokul Gite had assured them to end the campaign.

“Shiv Sainiks are demoralized by this. Higher management should take note,” he said.

Published – 22 Jun 2026 11:45 IST