Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti alliance secured 16 out of 17 legislative council seats, despite allegations of cross-voting and tacit support from a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership for a rebel candidate against the Shiv Sena for the Nashik seat.
The BJP rebel Gokul Geete, who contested as an Independent, defeated the Mahayuti's candidate, Shiv Sena leader Narendra Darade, triggering the allegations.
The polling for the legislative council seats was held on June 18. The BJP won 11 of the 17 seats, while Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured three seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar bagged two seats.
The opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) failed to win any seat, dealing a fresh blow to the alliance as Shiv Sena (UBT), a key constituent of the grouping, faces the defection of its members of Parliament (MPs).
Shiv Sena leaders in Nashik blamed the 'silent support' from BJP leaders for Geete's victory, even though Darade was the Mahayuti's candidate. Geete secured 357 votes and Darade 248.
The development is likely to exacerbate the friction between the BJP and Shiv Sena. Sena leaders had expressed concerns over possible cross-voting during the election.
