Maharashtra battle: In MLC nomination race, BJP ignores loyalty points

The tickets were divvied up among younger persons and newcomers

The selection and election of four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominees to Maharashtra’s Legislative Council on May 18 fortified the upper hand that Devendra Fadnavis has over the party’s state unit and re-established the central parliamentary board’s writ over every level of the electoral process. It also left a trail of unhappiness which the central leadership will have to reckon with sooner than later.

A quartet of seniors and mid-level BJP leaders comprising Eknath Khadse, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Vinod Tawde and Pankaja Munde — who were ministers in the Fadnavis government but denied tickets or lost the 2019 Assembly elections —