The BJP has fielded five candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council polls after careful thought and it will use a different strategy than that deployed during the last week’s Rajya Sabha polls to ensure the victory of all its candidates, party leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve said on Thursday.
Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was credited for the victory of the party’s third candidate in the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls after he managed to mobilize support from independent legislators and MLAs from smaller parties in the state.
“Earlier, ‘King of Chess’ Devendra Fadnavis defeated the opposition (ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA) in the Rajya Sabha elections. Now, the MVA knows our trick, so we shall not use the earlier one and opt for a different strategy in the Legislative Council elections,” Minister of State for Railways Danve said.
He was talking to reporters in the Divisional Commissioner office premises in Aurangabad.
Elections for 10 vacant seats of the Legislative Council are scheduled on June 20.
Eleven candidates, five of them from the BJP, are in the fray and members of the 288-strong state assembly form the electoral college for the polls which will be held through secret ballot.
Danve said, “The BJP has given tickets to five candidates for the Legislative Council polls after careful thought. Earlier, Fadnavis defeated the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena (all MVA constituents) in the Rajya Sabha) elections. Our strategy this time will be different.” Asked whether the BJP was trying to defeat its former leader Eknath Khadse, who is now with the NCP and is one of the MVA candidates for the Council polls, the Union minister evaded a direct reply.
Danve said, “We wish to defeat the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena. We never said anything about the candidature of Eknath Khadse. It is the NCP’s internal issue.”
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