Prateek Tanmay
2 min readPuneJun 23, 2026 02:41 AM IST
The arrogance of power of the ruling BJP-Mahayuti was evident in the elections held for the 17 Legislative Council seats and following the principle of ‘Might is Right’, the ruling party utilised every tactic—diplomacy, money, force, and division—during this election, said MPCC president Harshavardhan Sapkal on Monday.
“The BJP’s stance is one of bullying, and they have begun their march toward ‘One Nation, One Party’ by first eliminating the opposition and then their own allies,” he said.
Speaking on the election results, Sapkal further said that in a democratic system, elections should be held in a fair and fear-free environment. “However, we have not seen a healthy electoral picture for the past few years. The ruling BJP-Mahayuti is winning elections by misusing power, with the administration and the Election Commission aiding them.
Consequently, acts like poaching opposition candidates, getting their nomination papers rejected, or pressuring them to withdraw are happening rampantly, which was also evident in this Legislative Council election. The BJP calls itself a powerful party, yet they have to resort to poaching from other parties because they lack their own candidates.
The Congress party fights elections to protect democracy and the Constitution, but the ruling party is creating chaos using the power of money. Each voter was offered incentives of ₹5 lakhs and other inducements. The ruling party’s victory is merely a display of arrogance born of power and wealth,” said Sapkal.
“Even though the Congress party may lack the required numbers, our fight to protect democracy and the Constitution continues. In Nagpur, despite not having the numbers, Atul Londhe fought the election from the standpoint of an ideological battle. A committee of senior leaders will soon review the defeat in the Legislative Council election,” Sapkal added.
