Sena not to contest byelection

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is likely to get elected as MLC unopposed as the Shiv Sena has decided not to field a candidate against him in the byelection to the legislative assembly constituency on May 4.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is likely to get elected as MLC unopposed as the Shiv Sena has decided not to field a candidate against him in the byelection to the legislative assembly constituency on May 4.

A senior Shiv Sena leader said the party had decided against fielding a nominee against Chavan after the latters appeal to the Sena leadership in this regard. He said even in case the Sena had decided to field a nominee,it would have been futile considering the clear majority of the Congress-NCP in the Assembly,which is the electoral college for the polls.

Announcing that his party would not contest the MLC byelection,Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said the prevailing political situation in the state was such that people had lost interest in such elections. He also criticised Chavan for the state governments action against those protesting against the Jaitapur nuclear power project.

Chavan who assumed office on November 11,2010,after Ashok Chavan relinquished the post in the wake of his alleged involvement in the Adarsh society scam,is a Rajya Sabha member. He has to become a member of either the Assembly or the Council within six months of swearing in. The deadline expires on May 10.

The Congress had chosen a safe backdoor entry for him into the legislature by deciding to make him an MLC,instead of asking him to contest a byelection to the Assembly,which might have been risky. Congress leaders had said the MLC bypoll would be a cakewalk for the chief minister as the ruling Congress-NCP alliance has a clear majority in the Assembly.

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