Mumbai, June 22 -- The ruling Mahayuti alliance registered a commanding victory in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, winning 16 of the 17 seats for which results were declared on Monday.

Polling for 17 seats was held on June 18. However, six Mahayuti candidates had already been elected unopposed before voting, giving the alliance an early advantage. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the biggest gainer, winning 11 seats, while Shiv Sena (Shinde) secured three seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) won two.

The only seat that did not go to an official Mahayuti candidate was Nashik, where an Independent candidate and BJP rebel Gokul Gite defeated Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Darade. Gite's victory is bei...