MLC polls: BJP's MCGM group leader files nomination

BJP group leader in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Manoj Kotak today filed his nomination for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections from the Mumbai local self government body.
Out of total eight seats which are up for grab for the biennial election slated for December 27, Mumbai has two seats.
Kotak will face Bhai Jagtap of Congress as the main opponent while Ramdas Kadam of Shiv Sena, the environment minister, is likely to sail through with his party having requisite numbers from another seat.
Kotak, a two-time corporator, had unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections from Bhandup (west) seat last year.

Jagtap and Kadam, both sitting MLCs, had filed their nomination papers yesterday.
The quota for winning the first round of MLC election from the Mumbai seats is 75 while a total of 227 corporators in Mumbai form the electorate for the election, out of them BJP's strength is 31.

When contacted, BJP's Mumbai unit president Ashish Shelar said nominees of his party and Sena will win the two seats from Mumbai.
"We will get in touch with other parties for support," he said without elaborating.
The eight MLCs in the biennial elections (held once in six years) are to be elected from local self-government bodies constituency. The seats are: Nagpur, Akola-Washim-Buldhana (both in Vidarbha), Solapur, Kolhapur (western Maharashtra), Ahmednagar, Dhule-Nandurbar in North Maharashtra and two seats in Mumbai.

The outgoing members are Rajendra Mulak, Gopikisan Bajoriya, Deepak Salunke, Mahadeo Mahadik, Arin Jagtap, Amrish Patel, Ramdas Kadam and Bhai Jagtap respectively.