Mumbai: Polling is underway for six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra. A special court in Mumbai has denied bail to jailed Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik and former minister Anil Deshmukh to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls. Both the NCP leaders had moved the court seeking permission to cast their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections, but the relief is not being granted. The court's decision has dealt a political blow to the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Seven candidates are trying their luck in the fray for six Rajya Sabha seats. In such a situation, this is the first time in 22 years that there is a game of sway between the Shiv Sena and the BJP for one vote each in the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra. A candidate in the Rajya Sabha needs around 41 votes to win. In such a situation, the Shiv Sena has suffered a political setback as Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh did not get relief from the court for voting.
Minister Nawab Malik and former minister Anil Deshmukh, arrested in different money laundering cases, had moved the court seeking a day's bail to vote in the upcoming elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in the state. In such a situation, the court approved the Enforcement Directorate's argument that prisoners do not have the right to vote. This has completely disturbed the political equation of the Shiv Sena. There are a total of 288 members in the Maharashtra Assembly, but Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh were not approved in the Rajya Sabha elections. Apart from this, due to the death of one Shiv Sena MLA, the figure has now come down to 285. Thus, the number of MLAs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi has also come down.
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