Congress-NCP loses by nine votes to BJP's Prasad Lad in Maharashtra Legislative Council by-poll

In yet another jolt to the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) a BJP candidate Prasad Lad won the by-poll of Maharashtra Legislative Council on Thursday by managing nine votes from the Congress and NCP.

Out of 284 votes, Lad secured 209 whereas the Congress candidate Dilip Mane got 73. Two votes were termed as invalid.

As Shiv Sena (63) and a few independents (7) had backed Lad's candidature he was expected to get 192 votes including 122 of the BJP.

Arjun Khotkar of Shiv Sena could not cast his vote as the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court has disqualified him for filing his nomination after the deadline in the October 2014 Assembly election.

On the contrary, Lad got 209, 18 more than the expected.

Mane was expected to get 83 votes including 42 of Congress and 41 of NCP.

Chhagan Bhujbal of NCP did not turn up for voting from the Arthur Road jail where he is lodged in a money laundering case. It means nine votes from the Congress-NCP kitty went to Lad.

Total 288 members of Legislative Assembly were voters in this by-poll.

Apart from Khotkar and Bhujbal two MLAs of MIM did not turn up for voting saying there was no point in voting as Lad's victory was certain.

Interestingly, the BJP has managed to get one vote more for its candidate than the 208 votes it had secured for its candidate in presidential election Ramnath Kovind in July.

In other words, everyone including the independents and small parties has voted for the BJP sending an alarming signal to the Congress and the NCP.

Lad thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for "giving an opportunity to contest the by-poll". The atmosphere in the BJP headquarters, however, was not joyful.

No office bearer of the party was present at the Nariman Point office when Lad's victory was announced. While a team of players was playing band at the office the workers were not seen enjoying the by-poll result. No sweet was distributed like victories in previous elections.

The BJP workers had expressed dissatisfaction over the candidature of Lad, who joined the party only two years ago, defecting from the NCP.

The by-poll was conducted after former CM Narayan Rane quit Congress, resigned from his membership of the Council and floated a new outfit, Maharashtra Swabhimaan Party.