NCP candidate defeats Sena man in Council poll

Mumbai, Feb 21 (PTI) Candidate of ruling NCP, KiranPawaskar won the by-election to the Maharashtra LegislativeCouncil from the MLAs quota, held here today.

Pawaskar, former Sena MLC, polled 182 votes, while hisrival Rahul Narvekar of the Shiv Sena secured 90 votes.

The election was necessitated due to the resignation ofPawaskar as Sena MLC last month. He later joined the NCP.

The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)abstained from the by-election in which 274 of the total 289members of the Legislative Assembly voted.

Apart from the 13 members of the MNS, CPI(M) MLA RajaramOnzre and Shivajirao Kardile of BJP did not turn up forvoting. There was a death in Kardile''s family, sources said.

The winning candidate needed to get 145 votes in theHouse of 289, which includes Governor''s nominee, Anglo-Indianmember Bertrand Muller.

Congress has 82 MLAs and there are 62 of the NCP. Theruling coalition has the support of 24 independents and othersmaller parties. Sena has 45 MLAs and ally BJP has 46.