Maharashtra Legislative Council bypolls: BJP announces 3 candidates

The other two parties in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), will share the remaining two MLC spots.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that bypolls would be held for five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council on March 27. If necessary, voting will occur the day after the four-week Budget Session of the Assembly concludes on March 26. These bypolls were prompted by the election of five MLCs as MLAs in the 2024 Assembly elections.

These five MLCs consist of three from the BJP—Praveen Datke, Gopichand Padalkar, and Ramesh Karad—along with one each from NCP (SP) (Rajesh Vitekar) and Shiv Sena (Amshya Padvi).

Padvi’s term in the Legislative Council lasts until July 7, 2028, while Vitekar’s extends to July 27, 2030. The tenures of Praveen Datke, Ramesh Karad, and Gopichand Padalkar will conclude on May 13, 2026.

Nominations must be submitted by March 17, and the deadline for withdrawing nominations is March 20. If polling is necessary, it will take place from 9 am to 4 pm on March 27, and the votes will be counted at 5 pm the same day.

The 288 MLAs will cast their votes, if necessary, for the appointment of MLCs. The strength of the state council is 78 members. Currently, the BJP has 19 MLCs, followed by the NCP, the Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) with seven each. Shiv Sena has six MLCs, while the NCP (SP) and Independents account for three each. There are also 26 vacant seats.