To Act Or Not To Act On Maharashtra MLC Poll Cross-Voting? Congress’s Big Dilemma Ahead Of Assembly Elections

The Congress, which performed exceptionally well in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha polls, faced a setback in the recent elections for 11 Members of the Legislative Council (MLC).

Although Congress candidate Pradnya Satav won comfortably with first-preference votes, some Congress MLAs engaged in cross-voting despite clear orders from the party. The cross-voting resulted in the loss of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate Jayant Patil of the Farmers and Peasants’ Party, and allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) Mahayuti, which lacked sufficient numbers to secure their ninth candidate, to succeed.

The situation mirrors the 2022 election, where Congress candidate Chandrakant Handore, the first-preference candidate, lost the MLC election, while Bhai Jagtap, the second-preference candidate, received extra votes and won. Despite the state leadership submitting a report to the Congress high command after the 2022 debacle of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, no action was taken against those MLAs.

THE CROSS-VOTING CLAIMS

During the recent MLC elections, unconfirmed reports had hinted that cross-voting may occur, giving the ruling alliance extra votes from the MVA. However, it seems MVA leaders, particularly from the Congress, ignored the warnings, resulting in cross-voting from their camp.

On the same evening, state Congress chief Nana Patole stated, “Those who engaged in cross-voting will not be spared and strict action will be taken."

According to sources within the Congress, many MLAs, who voted as instructed by party leaders, have raised concerns over why no action was taken against those who cross-voted, with some requesting immediate sacking of these MLAs for anti-party activities.

“The Lok Sabha elections showed that people are with us (Congress Party), but a few MLAs from our own party betrayed us. We wanted to identify such MLAs, hence we contested the MLC election and fielded our candidate. Soon, a cleanup will take place within the party. Those who cross-voted have been identified and action will be taken against them. The state leadership has submitted its report to the Congress high command," said Vijay Waddetiwar, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, on X.

WILL THEY, WON’T THEY?

When the Congress takes disciplinary action against any of its MPs or MLAs, a committee is formed to send notices to the leaders concerned, asking for their response. The panel then recommends to the Congress president the action to be taken.

Sources within the Congress office reveal that Patole believes the high command should not wait for any committee to be constituted as the state leadership has already submitted the detailed report identifying those involved in cross-voting. Some of these MLAs were also involved in cross-voting during the 2022 MLC polls too.

There is an ongoing discussion within the Maharashtra Congress on the action. The party high command may be reluctant to take action as it could affect the upcoming state elections, amid the positive momentum from the Lok Sabha polls. Some MLAs believe that action should be taken after the state elections to prevent these MLAs from switching allegiance. The state leadership has now placed the responsibility on the Congress high command.