No bail to vote for Malik, Deshmukh as race for RS seat in Maharashtra hots up

New Delhi, Jun 09: A special court in Mumbai rejected the plea of jailed NCP leaders, Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik seeking a day's bail to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled to be held on Friday.

Deshmukh was arrested in connection with a corruption case while Malik was arrested in a money laundering case registered against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and some of his associates.

Elections will be held for six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra and for the first time in over two decades there is a contest with seven candidates.

The Shiv Sena has fielded Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar while the BJP has put up Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonds and Dhananjay Mahadik. The NCP and Congress have nominated Praful Patel and Imran Pratapgarh.

To win the Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra any candidate needs 42 votes. The Shiv Sena has the numbers to win three out of the six seats for which 288 MLAs vote.

The BJP with 106 members can win two on its own, but has fielded a third setting up a contest for the sixth seat between Mahadik and Sanjay Pawar.