Palghar, Jun 19 (PTI) On the eve of the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, NCP nominee Eknath Khadse on Sunday met BVA leader and Vasai MLA Hitendra Thakur and sought the support of his party in the tight contest between opposition BJP and Shiv Sena-led tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

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Recently, nominees of NCP, Congress, and BJP had called on Thakur separately apparently to seek the support of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, which has three MLAs in the Legislative Assembly, in the June 20 elections for which eleven candidates are in the fray for the ten seats.

Later talking to reporters on the premises of Thakur's office, Khadse admitted that he had asked for the BVA's votes in the polls.

"I know Hitendra Thakur for more than 32 years. We share good relations. We know each other beyond politics. Today, we discussed family matters and didn't talk much about politics," he said.

Khadse said it is Thakur's prerogative whom to vote.

"I hope he will take the right decision," Khadse said, adding that Thakur cited different issues in his constituency during their discussion.

Khadse also claimed that many MLAs in his parent party BJP, which he had quit last year, are his supporters.

He added that some MLAs (in BJP) are in touch with him but they will not cross the party line to vote for him in the MLC elections.

"Not only two MLAs in Jalgaon, but many (MLAs) in BJP also support me. I had helped many get tickets to contest elections. I also helped many MLAs to get cabinet berths. Many of them love me," he claimed.

Khadse said the MVA- comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress- will win all the six seats it is contesting.

Thakur is non-committal on the stand of the BVA in the polls.

The MLAs form the electoral college for the MLC elections.

The effective strength of the 288-member Maharashtra House is reduced to 285 following the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, while two NCP MLAs -Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh - are currently in jail and are not allowed to vote by the high court.

Smaller parties and Independents account for 25 MLAs.

The quota for first preference votes per candidate to win the MLC polls is 26.

The BJP has 106 MLAs in the House, Shiv Sena-55, Congress-44 and NCP-52.

Given its strength in the Assembly, the BJP can get four of the five candidates elected, the Sena and the NCP two each, and the Congress one.

A total of 11 candidates are in the fray for the 10 Council seats up for grabs, with the MVA allies - Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress - fielding two candidates each. The BJP has nominated five candidates.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)