No order from Raj Thackeray to back any party in council polls: MNS leader

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande on Wednesday said there was no order for them from party chief Raj Thackeray to vote for any particular party in the polls underway on Wednesday for four seats of the Maharashtra legislative council.

Notably, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supported the ruling Mahayuti in the state, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Polling was being held on Wednesday in the Mumbai Graduates, Mumbai Teachers, Nashik Teachers and Konkan Graduates constituencies of the state legislative council, as the terms of their sitting members are expiring in July.

In the Konkan Graduates constituency, there is a direct fight between sitting BJP MLC Niranjan Davkhare and Congress candidate Ramesh Keer.

Last month, the MNS fielded filmmaker Abhijit Panse from the Konkan Graduates seat but he later withdrew from the fray.

Asked about the MNS stand for the MLC polls after it supported the Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha elections, Deshpande told reporters here, "We are free to vote today for any candidate of our choice. There is no order from our leader Raj Thackeray to vote for a particular party or candidate."

The MNS electors will vote as per their individual choice, he added.