Sena sulks, Cong, PWP jubilant; BJP-NCP happy

Mumbai, June 1 (UNI) Describing the cross voting by his party legislators as the ''game of money'', Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray demanded that open elections should be held for Legislative Council on the lines of the Rajya Sabha.

In his reaction, Mr Thackeray said that apart from Parshuram Uparkar, PWP's Jayant Patil, whom the Sena had given support, also got elected. However, Vijay Loke was defeated.

Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Ramdas Kadam today denied that 20 legislators cross voted and claimed that in fact the Sena had given its five votes to the PWP candidate.

Reacting to the defeat of Sena's official candidate, Mr Kadam said horse trading and money power was rampantly used in the biennial council elections. The Sena has maintained its word of giving five votes to the Peasants and Workers Party, he added.

Sena's Parshuram Uparkar got elected in the first round itself however, while Loke got defeated in the last round alog with NCP's Vasant Oswal who was eliminated in the first round.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Prabha Rau said that the party got the success as per the expectations.

When squizzed about the problem with NCP over the fourth seat, she said ''the result is in front of you''.

Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, who is considered as the architect of making a dent in the Sena by getting the fourth candidate elected, said that he was happy that party bosses accepted his request to put the fourth candidate.

He admitted that his supporter Mr Teli also got votes from the Sena and claimed that within a couple of years, more Sena legislators would come to him.

Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Dr Ratnakar Mahajan said the party fielded fourth candidate as the discussions with Congress failed.

Expressing his happiness over the election of the party's three candidates to the state Legislative Council, he said the party was happy as more secular candidates were elected.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the victory of all the four candidates will strengthen the party in the state. This was the victory of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he added.

PWP leader Jayant Patil received support of the first preference from two PWP and three CPI(M) legislators, apart from four BJP legislators. The other eights votes he secured from other parties and independents.

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