MLC polls: MLA Ravi Rana fears arrest; 'MVA govt pressurising me to not vote for BJP'

Launching another attack on the Maharashtra government, Independent MLA Ravi Rana alleged that he was being pressurised to not vote for BJP in the upcoming MLC polls. Rana, who has been at loggerheads with MVA since his arrest over the Hanuman Chalisa row, had voted for the saffron party in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election. In a video message on Saturday, the Badnera legislator averred that the police came to arrest him at his Khar residence when he was not at home. Maintaining that this action was linked to the MLC election, he vowed to challenge this legally. 

Ravi Rana alleged, "I am being pressurised with an aim to ensure that I don't vote for BJP in the MLC election. Owing to Amravati CP and Mumbai CP, the police reached my Khar residence with a warrant to arrest me so that I don't vote for BJP. I am pressurised by MVA through the CM. As I wasn't present in the Khar house, the police is looking out for me. I feel that I will respond to this legally."

MLC polls in Maharashtra

A total of 10 seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council are going to the polls on June 20. The election was necessitated by the retirement of 9 members- NCP's Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar and Sanjay Daund, Pravin Darekar, Sujitsinh Thakur and Prasad Lad of BJP, Shiv Sena's Subhash Desai and Diwakar Raote, Vinayak Mete and Sadabhau Khot and the demise of BJP MLA RN Singh. Based on their current strength in the state Assembly, BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are likely to bag 4, 2, 2 and 1 seats respectively.

While Darekar and Lad have been renominated by BJP, NCP has again reposed faith in Nimbalkar who is the outgoing chairman of the Legislative Council. The new candidates include BJP's Ram Shinde, Uma Khapre and Shrikant Bharatiya, Shiv Sena's Sachin Ahir and Amshya Padvi, Eknath Khadse of NCP and Congress' Bhai Jagtap and former minister Chandrakant Handore. A close contest is expected between BJP and MVA for one seat. Both BJP, as well as Shiv Sena, have moved their MLAs to hotels in order to avert poaching attempts. 

Speaking to the media a day earlier, former Maharashtra CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said, “We were hoping that the council polls will be held unopposed, but there was no success on this front. Congress declined to withdraw its candidate. We are confident that all our five candidates will win". This election has assumed significance after BJP managed to get all its 3 candidates elected in the RS polls much to the chagrin of Shiv Sena.