Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde’s claim of winning 200 votes in Presidential election turns hollow

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s claim of winning 200 out of 288 legislators in Maharashtra has proven to be hollow as the NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu got 181 votes, while the Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha got 98.

Murmu's nomination was supported by both the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Shinde camp. Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s 15 legislators voted for Murmu. One legislator each from the BJP and the Shinde camp did not cast their votes as they were absent during polling held on July 18.

Shinde, who had secured 164 votes against MVA’s 99 during the floor test, on July 14, during Murmu’s visit to Mumbai, had claimed that she would get the support of 200 legislators due to the discontent among the NCP and the Congress. However, Shinde’s calculations failed as there was no split in the opposition’s vote. The state assembly Speaker did not vote.

Shinde and DCM Devendra Fadnavis had expected to exploit the uncertainty in the NCP and the Congress to seek votes from their legislators, as it had done in the Rajya Sabha and state council elections. However, they failed to create the same magic during the presidential election.

The Shinde-Fadnavis alliance had also appealed to the opposition MLAs from the tribal community to support her. However, there were no takers.

Published on: Thursday, July 21, 2022, 11:05 PM IST