Mumbai

Ten newly elected members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, including six from the Bharatiya Janata Party, were sworn in on Thursday at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.

The oath of office was administered by Council Chairperson Ram Shinde during a ceremony held in the Central Hall of the Vidhan Bhavan.

Those sworn in included Neelam Gorhe of Shiv Sena, Omprakash 'Bachchu' Kadu of Prahar Janshakti Party, Ambadas Danve of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Zeeshan Siddique of the Nationalist Congress Party.

The BJP members who took oath were Pragya Satav, Pramod Jathar, Madhavi Naik, Sunil Karjatkar, Vivek Kolhe and Sanjay Bhende.

Of the ten members, nine had been elected unopposed earlier this month in the biennial polls, while Pragya Satav entered the House through a by-election after resigning as a Congress MLC and subsequently joining the BJP.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar, along with several senior leaders.

In the 78-member Upper House, 22 seats are currently vacant, including 17 seats representing local self-government bodies and five nominated positions.

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The next biennial elections for graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies are scheduled to be held in December this year.