Mumbai, June 1: Following intense negotiations and high-level meetings involving top BJP leadership, the ruling Mahayuti alliance has arrived at a seat-sharing arrangement for the 17 Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) seats. The election, which relies on elected members of local bodies as the electorate, will take place on June 18.

Monday is the last day for filing nominations.

Of the 17 seats, BJP will contest 11, Shiv Sena 4 and NCP 2.

The BJP took the lion’s share of the allocation after maintaining a firm stance on maximising its contest based on local body numerical advantages. Out of the 11 candidates, 10 are contesting for regular six-year terms, while one candidate has been fielded for the highly watched Nagpur bypoll seat.

The complete list of BJP nominees and their designated constituencies are — Ahilyanagar: Prajakt Tanpure (who officially switched over to the BJP leaving NCP SP); Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli: Arun Lakhani (businessman and prominent relative of NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule’s family); Nagpur (Bypoll Seat): Dr Rajiv Potdar (contesting the single seat vacated after state Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule transitioned to the State Assembly); Amravati: Pravin Pote Patil; Bhandara-Gondia: Avinash Brahmankar; Sangli-Satara: Dhairyashil Kadam; Solapur: Rajendra Raut; Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna: Suhas Shirsat; Nanded: Amar Rajurkar; Osmanabad-Latur-Beed: Basavraj Patil and Jalgaon: Nandkishor Mahajan.

Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde initially pushed for 7 seats but settled for 4 after interventions from top BJP national leadership. The party conceded Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna to the BJP in exchange for securing Nashik. The Sena announced its nominees — Thane (Shinde’s political home turf): Ravindra Phatak; Nashik: Narendra Darade; Parbhani: Saied Khan; and for Yavatmal, the nominee is Sheetal Sanjay Rathod, who is the wife of Minister Sanjay Rathod

The NCP, led locally by Sunetra Pawar, held firm on its core demands and successfully negotiated 2 seats. Notably, the party secured the Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat (Konkan local authorities) amidst friction with local Shiv Sena leaders, potentially settling the dispute by leaving the Raigad Guardian Minister post to the Sena.

The two seats are: Pune (won after a tug-of-war with the BJP), where the party has fielded a businessman and a son of former MP Sanjay Kakde, Vikram Kakde. In Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (Konkan), the party has nominated former legislator Aniket Tatkare, who is the son of the state party chief and MP Sunil Tatkare.

Jerusalem: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday said it had captured Beaufort Castle after entering the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Saluki areas in southern Lebanon.

According to the IDF, the operation is focused on establishing operational control over the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area, as well as degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities in the region.

“Last night, our heroic fighters captured the Beaufort Castle. They proudly raised the flag of the State of Israel and the flag of the Golani Brigade there,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

“I remind you that 44 years ago, this place was a symbol of a heroic battle by our fighters, but it was also a symbol of deep division among us. Today, we returned to Beaufort differently. We returned united, determined and stronger than ever,” he added.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah directed military and combat activities from the Beaufort Ridge and carried out numerous attacks from the area.

Prime Minister Netanyahu also said he had instructed the IDF to expand its incursion into Lebanon.

“Our forces have crossed the Litani River. They took dominant terrain. They captured the Beaufort Ridge. And now my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah’s control,” Netanyahu said.

He also described the capture of Beaufort as a dramatic stage and a significant shift in the policy being pursued by his government.

“We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts — in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon; we have established security zones beyond our borders to protect our communities,” he added.

“I am with you. The entire nation of Israel is with you. It will take more time, but we will restore security to the residents of the North, just as we did for the residents of the South,” he told brigade commanders on Friday.

Mumbai: Mayor Ritu Tawde on Monday reviewed the ongoing drain-cleaning and desilting works across the city and said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is working to ensure the city is prepared before the arrival of the monsoon.

Speaking to mediapersons during the inspection, Tawde said the civic body had started the drain-cleaning exercise a month earlier than usual to strengthen flood-preparedness measures.

“We started the cleaning of Mumbai’s drains one month in advance ahead of monsoon. If we look at the overall drain-cleaning work, more than 80 per cent of the drains across Mumbai have been cleaned so far. If there are any minor gaps or delays, efforts are currently underway to address them. Overall, both minor and major drains in Mumbai have been cleaned beyond 80 per cent,” the Mayor said.

The inspection comes at a crucial time as weather agencies have predicted increasing rainfall activity across Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in the coming days, raising concerns over waterlogging and flooding in vulnerable areas.

According to the latest BMC data as of May 31, desilting work on major drains has crossed its target, with overall progress reaching 101.47 per cent. The City Division recorded 110 per cent completion, while the Western Suburbs reached 106.85 per cent. The Eastern Suburbs reported 89.69 per cent progress.

Minor drain desilting has also surpassed targets in several wards, with overall citywide progress touching 101.35 per cent. Among the best-performing wards were G/S Ward at 135.05 per cent, D Ward at 133.35 per cent, P/S Ward at 121.81 per cent and K/W Ward at 111.10 per cent.

However, civic records show that a few areas are still lagging behind. S Ward reported only 15.73 per cent completion, while M/E Ward stood at 89.83 per cent. Efforts are underway to bridge the remaining gaps before heavy rains begin.

The Mithi River desilting project, one of Mumbai’s key flood-mitigation measures, has achieved 68.48 per cent progress so far. Among its three divisions, ES-526 recorded the highest completion level at 77.27 per cent, followed by ES-527 at 69.71 per cent and ES-525 at 57.83 per cent.

Mumbai has witnessed several instances of severe waterlogging during previous monsoons, leading the BMC to intensify pre-monsoon preparations this year. Apart from drain cleaning, civic authorities are also monitoring pumping stations, flood-prone locations and stormwater drainage infrastructure. Regular inspections and progress reviews will likely continue in the coming weeks to ensure that all critical works are completed before the full-fledged monsoon reaches the city.