Muslim cleric, MNS bag first seats in Maharashtra

A Muslim cleric, Maulana Mufti Ismail, bagged the Malegaon assembly seat (near Nashik), while Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) opened its account in Vikhroli (Mumbai north-east suburb) here Thursday in the Maharashtra assembly elections.

The Malegaon winner belongs to the Jan Surajya Party which is part of the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF), know as the Third Front of 18 parties.

MNS's Mangesh Sangle has bagged the Vikhroli seat in a BJP bastion, defeating Shiv Sena's former Mumbai mayor Datta Dalvi.

In the neighbouring Ghatkopar west seat, Poonam Mahajan, daughter of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, was trailing against the MNS candidate.

The leftist Third Front is leading in another 10 constituencies across the state.