The BJP secured 11 seats, while its allies, the Shiv Sena and NCP, won three and two seats respectively. An independent candidate, Gokul Gite, a relative of a local party leader, claimed the Nashik seat by defeating the Shiv Sena nominee, later joining the Eknath Shinde-led party as an associate member.
The biennial elections were initially set for 17 seats, including one bypoll, but voting was required only in 11 constituencies, as candidates from the Mahayuti alliance—comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP—won six seats unopposed.
Voting took place on June 18 in those 11 constituencies, with local self-governing body members forming the electoral college. Counting occurred on June 22.
The Opposition alliance, MahaVikas Aghadi, which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), was unable to secure a single seat.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed the election results as a “resounding victory” and a strong mandate for the Mahayuti.
Fadnavis, representing the BJP, stated the victory was achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance from senior party figures.
“The BJP-Mahayuti has won the Legislative Council elections in Maharashtra. I extend my congratulations to all the successful candidates,” he remarked.
The results displayed significant cross-voting, with support for BJP and Shiv Sena candidates coming from Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP) ranks.
In Nagpur, BJP candidate Rajiv Potdar achieved a historic win, as Congress candidate Atul Londhe failed to retain even his party’s votes, with reports suggesting around 40 votes defected from Congress. This constituency had a bypoll due to senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule vacating his seat after being elected to the Assembly.
Congress leader Vikas Thakre expressed his discontent over the Nagpur bypoll results, stating, “This situation is unfortunate. Votes should not have been divided. Those accountable must explain and face consequences for their betrayal.” He noted that the Congress would identify individuals responsible for cross-voting and engage in discussions with observers, indicating lapses in Nagpur Rural under the appointed party functionaries.
In the Sangli-Satara contest, BJP candidate Dhairyashil Kadam outperformed NCP (SP) candidate Abhaysinh Jagtap, winning by 593 votes to 292, despite over 100 reported cross-votes, suggesting dissatisfaction within both alliances. Senior BJP leaders, including Udayanraje Bhosale and Shivendraraje Bhosale, were actively involved in this intense mobilization.
The Nashik outcome was particularly notable, marking the only setback for the governing alliance, where Shiv Sena candidate Narendra Darade (248 votes) lost to Independent Gite (357 votes) by a margin of 109 votes.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, leading the Shiv Sena, campaigned alongside several elected representatives in the area.
Shortly after his victory, Gite joined the Shiv Sena as an associate member.
At a press conference, Gite stated his interest in working under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, expressing, “I have joined the Shiv Sena as an associate member.”
The Nashik constituency had seen controversies since Gite declared his independent candidacy against Darade.
In total, six candidates were elected unopposed to the Upper House of the state legislature: Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Phatak and Dushyant Chaturvedi, NCP’s Aniket Tatkare and Vikram Kakade, and BJP’s Arun Lakhani and Prajakt Tanpure.
Other winners included BJP’s Suhas Shirsat (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna), Avinash Brahmankar (Bhandara-Gondia), Rajendra Raut (Solapur), Basavaraj Patil (Dharashiv-Latur-Beed), Nandkishor Mahajan (Jalgaon), Pravin Pote (Amravati), and Amar Rajurkar (Nanded), alongside Shiv Sena’s Saeed Khan (Parbhani-Hingoli).
Data from constituencies suggested that cross-voting significantly influenced the outcomes. In Nagpur, despite the Congress and its allies’ strength, the BJP managed to secure 501 votes, indicating defection trends. Similar patterns were noted in Sangli-Satara and Nashik, where the vote shares of opposing parties did not yield expected results.
The elections operated under a preferential voting system, requiring candidates to obtain over 50% of valid votes plus one to win, with second-preference votes counted if necessary.
The Opposition MVA claimed that the ruling alliance utilized monetary and coercive tactics to force rival candidates to withdraw.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal accused the Mahayuti alliance of employing “saam, daam, dand, bhed” to manipulate power and resources for electoral victory, asserting that the results reflected a “might is right” approach.
He remarked that the ruling alliance exhibited an “arrogance of power,” compromising democratic norms.
“The results exemplify ‘jiski lathi, uski bhains’ (might is right). What occurred was not democracy, but authoritarianism. The BJP is steering towards ‘One Nation, One Party’ by first undermining Opposition parties and later its own allies,” he stated.
He further alleged that individuals from the Opposition faced pressure to withdraw from the elections and accused the administration and Election Commission of supporting the ruling party.
Sapkal claimed that financial incentives played a role in the elections, alleging that each voter was offered ₹5 lakh and additional incentives.
He reaffirmed that the Congress would persist in its efforts to uphold democracy and the Constitution.
Regarding the Nagpur contest, Sapkal asserted that Congress candidate Londhe participated in the battle ideologically, despite the party’s lack of numerical strength.
