Pune: NCP City Chief Deepak Mankar Eyes MLC Post

Ahead of the upcoming State Legislative Council elections on July 12, the Pune unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) demanded one Legislative Council seat for Pune city.

A delegation led by City Unit President Deepak Mankar met with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Mumbai to submit a written demand for the seat.

According to NCP leader Deepak Mankar, "As the state will go for Vidhan Sabha polls later in the year in October and Pune city has eight assembly seats out which two are with NCP. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the opponents have shown a lead which has raised concerns among party workers about potential hurdles during seat-sharing talks for the upcoming assembly polls. Therefore, to strengthen the position of the party while going in the election a seat in the council is crucial in forming an effective strategy for the Legislative Assembly elections."

He also added, "Local office-bearers are insistent that the party should secure at least one out of the 11 available Council seats. They believe that having a party MLC from Pune is necessary for political leverage and negotiating power during seat-sharing talks with other parties".

When asked about the potential candidate from Pune if the seat is allotted, Mankar said, "I have been in politics for long time. Also, I have good contacts across the state, so, if the opportunity is given, I will take the responsibility to be the Member of Legislative Council, but final decision lies with our top leadership to decide candidate for the MLC post."

As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), elections on 11 seats of Maharashtra Legislative Council will be held on July 12, as the six-year tenure of the MLCs will end on July 27.

The quota to elect one MLC is the votes of 23 MLAs.

The nomination process has started and the last date to file nominations is July 2. The deadline for withdrawal of the same is July 5.