Maha: BJP MP blames NCP for defeat of Shiv Sena's second nominee in RS polls

The BJP won all the three seats it had contested.Speaking to reporters in Ahmednagar, Vikhe Patil claimed the Sena has been suffering political losses since it joined hands with the NCP and Congress after the 2019 Assembly elections.

BJP MP from Ahmednagar, Sujay Vikhe Patil, on Sunday said the NCP, and not Independents, was responsible for the defeat of ruling Shiv Sena's second nominee in the recently-held Rajya Sabha polls in Maharashtra. In the fiercely-contested polls for the total six seats on Friday, Sena's Sanjay Pawar lost to BJP's Dhananjay Mahadik- its third nominee. Other Maha Vikas Aghadi partners- the NCP and the Congress won one seat each. The BJP won all the three seats it had contested.

Speaking to reporters in Ahmednagar, Vikhe Patil claimed the Sena has been suffering political losses since it joined hands with the NCP and Congress after the 2019 Assembly elections. He claimed that the Sharad Pawar-led party has been trying to finish off Shiv Sena politically.

''It is Shiv Sena and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who have suffered the biggest losses in the last two-and-a-half years,'' he said. Vikhe Patil said Sena's second nominee lost because of the NCP, and Independents are not responsible for his defeat. ''Uddhav Thackeray should be cautious and pull himself out by understanding the conspiracy of NCP,'' the BJP MP said.

Without taking any names, he said people in Shiv Sena are not advising Thackeray properly. In the last two-and-a-half years, several Shiv Sainiks have quit the Sena, he claimed.

Vikhe Patil wondered why the quota of the first preferential votes of Praful Patel (NCP) was increased from 42 to 43 in the RS polls. He also asked why Congress gave all the 44 votes to its candidate- Imran Pratapgarhi- when the quota was 41.

''In the Rajya Sabha election which was held through the open ballot, the Congress could have given 41 votes to its candidate and the surplus votes to Shiv Sena,'' he said, adding that the NCP and the Congress could have given their extra votes to Sanjay Pawar.

Of the 284 votes polled, Piyush Goyal and Anil Bonde (both BJP) bagged 48 votes each, while another BJP nominee, Mahadik got 41.56 votes. Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut polled 41 votes, Pratapgarhi 44 and Patel 43.

A day earlier, Praful Patel had said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)- comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress- failed to secure four-five votes of Independent MLAs. He had ruled out cross-voting among the ruling partners. Vikhe Patil said all the six candidates of the BJP, including the one supported by the party, will win the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections scheduled for June 20. while Sena will suffer loss. A total of 10 MLC seats are up for grabs.