Rajya Sabha polls: 'To defeat BJP', AIMIM MLAs to vote for Congress candidate in Maharashtra

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has decided to vote in favour of the Congress candidate in fray for the Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra being held on Friday.The announcement was made by AIMIM Lok Sabha member from Aurangabad Imtiaz Jaleel hours before the polling that started at 9 am on Friday."Our 2 AIMIM Maharashtra MLAs have been asked to vote for @INCIndia candidate @ShayarImran for Rajya Sabha seat. We extend our best wishes to him!," Imtiaz Jaleel tweeted."To defeat BJP, our party @aimim_national has decided to vote for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Our political/ideological differences however will continue with @ShivSena which is a partner in MVA along with @INCIndia and @Maha_speaks_ncp," the AIMIM MP said in another tweet.He further said that AIMIM has laid certain conditions related to development of its MLAs constituencies in Dhulia and Malegaon. "Also demanded government to appoint a minority member in MPSC and to take steps to increase the income of Maharashtra Wakf Board. Also demanded reservations for Muslims," Jaleel added.Seven candidates are in fray for the six seats from Maharashtra where polling is being held on Friday.Also Read: Rajya Sabha polls: Close fight for 16 seats in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana todayAfter more than two decades, Maharashtra is witnessing a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls as there are seven candidates in the fray for six seats. The polling process will continue till 4 pm today.The 288-member Legislative Assembly is the electoral college for the elections. But the total votes have come down to 285 since there is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke and a special court on Thursday rejecting the pleas filed by minister Nawab Malik and former minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a day's bail to vote in the elections.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.