Mumbai, June 23: Following the latest round of Legislative Council election results, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as a dominant force in the upper house of the Maharashtra Legislature. Meanwhile, the Opposition is locked in an internal tussle over the post of Leader of the Opposition (LoP).

In the currently active 73-member house, the BJP alone commands 35 seats, pushing it closer to an absolute majority on its own.

The BJP has emerged as an undisputed powerhouse in Maharashtra’s upper house. With the latest seat adjustments, passing any legislative Bill will no longer be an uphill task for the saffron party, effectively handing them the “trump card” in the upper house.

The 78-member Legislative Council requires a simple majority mark of 39 seats. Political observers note that if the remaining Governor-nominated five seats are filled quickly, the BJP could single-handedly touch the doorstep of a majority.

Of the 12 total seats traditionally nominated by the Governor, seven have already been filled. Out of the remaining five vacant seats, seat-sharing discussions within the ruling Mahayuti alliance suggest that the BJP is slated to secure three, while Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP will likely receive one each.

If these appointments go through, the BJP’s individual strength will rise from 35 to 38 —just one seat short of a standalone majority.

By the end of this year, biennial elections for 5 Graduate and Teacher constituencies will take place. Political analysts view this as a golden opportunity for the BJP to settle old political scores and scale its tally. If the party secures even 3 out of these 5 seats, its tally will breach the 40-plus mark, granting it a brute majority entirely on its own.

The growth marks a rapid expansion for the Legislative Council. Just two months ago, the House was heavily depleted with only 47 active members. However, the induction of 9 members via the state Assembly in May, followed by 17 members from Local Authorities’ constituencies, has restored the House strength to 73.

Meanwhile, political alignments continue to fluidly shift. Independent candidate Gokul Gite, who won the Nashik Local Authorities’ constituency, has officially joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, boosting their party strength to 12 MLCs.

The Chairman’s post is already held by the BJP’s Ram Shinde. For the Deputy Chairperson position, a decision is expected this week, with Dr Neelam Gorhe of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena widely tipped to return to the post.

While the ruling alliance consolidates its power, the Opposition is locked in an internal tussle.

Both the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) have staked a strong claim to the vacant LoP post. A resolution on who will lead the Opposition Bench is unlikely to be reached in the immediate days of the current session.

Mumbai: Police has registered its first case against Nazia Elahi Khan, the blasphemer of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and Devasingh, who provided her platforms to broadcast her interview. A case has been registered against both the accused in the Paeddhoni police for hurting religious sentiments and showing provocation. The demand for registering an FIR against both in Mumbai was made by Raza Academy head Saeed Noori and Maulana Ijaz Kashmiri. The police have registered this case on the complaint of Advocate Irfan Sheikh. In this, Irfan Sheikh said that he found Nazia Elahi and her host Devasingh committing blasphemy on an Instagram account, due to which the sentiments of me and Muslims were hurt. In this regard, we have also submitted all the documents related to Nazia Elahi to the police, which also includes electronic evidence. In this regard, the Paeddhoni police have registered a case. Earlier, Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti had assured the scholars that an FIR would be registered within 48 hours. Devin Bharti, keeping his promise, has given the police an FIR. The FIR was registered after which the FIR was registered. Therefore, the scholars have appealed to the Muslims to show patience and restraint and avoid provocations because legal action is being taken against Nazia Elahi. After the FIR was registered in Mumbai, it has been handed over to Delhi and Kolkata Police from zero number, which will investigate the matter. Currently, respecting the sentiments of the Muslims, the Mumbai Police has registered the FIR and brought the situation to peace.

Mumbai, June 22: In a major political upheaval in Maharashtra, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Monday executed “Operation Tiger,” engineering a split within Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT). Six Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs) from the UBT faction have formally joined the Shinde camp.

The six rebel MPs include Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv/Osmanabad), Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure (Shirdi) and Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East).

This development reduces Shiv Sena UBT’s strength in the Lok Sabha from nine to three, while the Shinde faction’s tally rises from seven to thirteen. The remaining loyalists with Uddhav Thackeray are Arvind Sawant (Mumbai South), Anil Desai (Mumbai South Central) and Rajabhau Waje (Nashik).

The cracks became evident when six of the nine UBT MPs skipped a crucial parliamentary party meeting in Delhi. Speculation turned into reality as the rebel MPs sent a formal letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting recognition as a separate group. By banding together as six, they bypassed the anti-defection law, which requires a minimum two-thirds majority to split without disqualification.

Nagesh Ashtikar and Omraje Nimbalkar admitted that sitting in the Opposition for two years deprived their constituencies of development funds. They noted that the Rs 5 crore MPLAD scheme was restrictive and surviving without state-backed funding was crippling their grassroots influence.

Ashtikar said via Facebook Live that he held no personal malice toward Uddhav Thackeray but criticised the “harsh, abusive language” and lack of trust displayed by senior leaders like Sanjay Raut after they skipped the Delhi meeting.

Omraje Nimbalkar’s defection followed a sessions court acquitting the accused in the murder of his father, Pawanraje Nimbalkar. He said Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis facilitated a conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, assuring him that the CBI would appeal the verdict on merit.

Uddhav Thackeray has launched a statewide outreach campaign to contain the damage, starting from the rebels’ constituencies in Yavatmal, Washim and Hingoli. He accused the defectors of “selling themselves after increasing their value post-election.”

The move by six rebel UBT MPs to join the Shinde faction reinforces their claim of being the true inheritors of Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy. By absorbing MPs who won on grassroots anti-incumbency, Shinde strengthens the Mahayuti framework’s appeal to leaders seeking state patronage and development support.