As Mahayuti looks to get its act together, Maharashtra MLC polls next big test, troubles mount for Ajit Pawar

At a time when the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra is in the initial stages of assessing its below-par performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the outcome of the elections to 11 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the dates for which are expected to be announced soon, may test the loyalty of the MLAs of the ruling coalition as well as the Opposition.

For the MLC polls, MLAs vote through a secret ballot. With the effective strength of the Assembly down from 288 to 274 due to a few legislators being elected as MPs, deaths and suspensions, the Mahayuti is on its toes to keep its flock together.

Of the 11 MLCs retiring on July 27, barely months ahead of the Assembly polls, four are from the BJP, two from the Congress, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Shiv Sena, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Peasants and Workers Party, and the Rashtriya Samaj Party have one each.

Since the Lok Sabha results, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which won 30 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats, has been hinting that around 18-19 MLAs who sided with NCP chief Ajit Pawar are trying to return to the Sharad Pawar camp.

The MVA has also claimed that the coming Budget session will be the last straw for the Mahayuti even as Ajit, who holds the finance portfolio, prepares to present the Budget in the Assembly on June 28. NCP(SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday said the Budget session was important as it would reveal the quantum of funds allocated to MLAs. “Those who want to return will do so only after the Budget session. The existence of the Mahayuti after the Budget session is unlikely,” he said.

Meanwhile, tensions within the Mahayuti — comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP — have also come to the fore, with