MNS candidate Abhijeet Panse withdraws ahead of Maharashtra council polls

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Abhijeet Panse has withdrawn from the fray for the upcoming state legislative council election from the Konkan Graduates' constituency, a party leader said on Friday.

The party had last month announced filmmaker Panse's candidature for the legislative council elections slated to be held on June 26.

"Panse will not be in the fray from the Konkan Graduates' constituency," said party spokesperson Sandeep Deshpande.

The development comes after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met MNS chief Raj Thackeray last week.

BJP MLC Niranjan Davkhare currently represents the constituency, and the party has renominated him.

The biennial elections to four legislative council seats Mumbai Graduates, Konkan Graduates, Mumbai Teachers and Nashik Teachers became necessary as the terms of sitting members are expiring in July.

The last date for filing the nominations is June 7. Voting will be held on June 26, and results will be declared on July 1.

The Maharashtra legislative council is a 78-member house.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has named MLC Anil Parab and party functionary J M Abhyankar as candidates for the Mumbai Graduates' and Mumbai Teachers' constituencies, respectively, and the Congress has announced the candidature of Ramesh Keer from the Konkan Graduates' constituency.

The Shiv Sena has fielded Deepak Sawant from the Mumbai Graduates' constituency, while the BJP has fielded Kiran Shelar.

The BJP is backing Shivnath Darade, the candidate of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad, for the Mumbai Teachers' constituency.

The Mumbai Teachers, Mumbai Graduates and Nashik Teachers constituencies are currently represented by Kapil Patil of the JD(U), Vilas Potnis of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and independent MLC Kishore Darade, respectively.

Out of 78 seats in the legislative council, the Shiv Sena (undivided) has 11 members, NCP (undivided) 9, Congress 8, and BJP 22. The JD (U), Peasants and Workers Party, and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha have one member each, while four are Independents, and 21 seats are vacant.