While Sena’s Ramdas ‘Bhai’ Kadam is in the safe zone in the legislative council polls, Congress’ Bhai Jagtap is unsure of his seat
Mumbai : When it came to the state legislative council election held on Sunday, Shiv Sena’s Ramdas Kadam, who is popularly called Bhai Kadam, is in the safe zone, but the BJP’s first preferential votes will decide the fate of Congress candidate Bhai Jagtap.
With the poll for the state legislative council scheduled for Sunday, all the parties sent a whip (compulsory directive) to their corporators in a bid to avoid any risks during the election. In the poll, NCP’s Prasad Lad jumped into the fray as a rebel candidate and that was the main factor that might disturb the equations.
Though the Congress has issued a whip to its corporators, the fate of Bhai Jagtap is dependent on the BJP’s first-choice votes. The Sena is in the safe zone as they have enough numbers to elect their candidate.
The Congress has 53 corporators and needs the support of 14 corporators from the NCP to stand a chance of sailing through. A candidate would need 68 votes to win if the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena remains firm on its decision of staying away from the polls.
The Samajwadi Party had issued a whip to its corporators to vote for the NCP’s Prasad Lad. After the poll, there were speculations that the 14 corporators of the NCP had cast their votes for Lad. The BJP also cast its first-choice votes for Lad. This clearly indicates that the Congress’s candidate, Bhai Jagtap, may be in the danger zone.
