Mumbai, March 16 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced the names of three candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council by-elections, following approval from the party's Central Election Committee (CEC).

The three candidates announced are: Sandip Diwakarrao Joshi, Sanjay Kishanrao Kenekar and Dadarao Yadavrao Keche.

The by-polls are being held to fill vacant seats in the Legislative Council, and the BJP, aiming to strengthen its presence in the state legislature

Five seats in the state legislative council fell vacant after the existing MLCs won last year's state assembly election.

The Election Commission of India announced the details of the bypolls for these five seats on March 3.

The sitting MLAs wou...