Pawar, Athawale, Tawde set to get elected to Rajya Sabha

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) Six candidates of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and BJP leader Vinod Tawde, and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi nominee Sharad Pawar, are set to get elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.

On the last day of filing nominations for the March 16 elections for seven seats from Maharashtra, only seven candidates filed their papers at Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai on Thursday.

Pawar, 85, was not present at Vidhan Bhawan owing to ill-health. His daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule filed the papers on his behalf.

Besides Athawale and Tawde, the BJP fielded Ramrao Wadkute and Maya Ivnate.

Wadkute, once considered close to Sharad Pawar during his stint in the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, hails from the Hatkar community in the Marathwada region.

He was then elected to the state Legislative council with Pawar’s support before joining the BJP.

Maya Ivnate is a former mayor of Nagpur, and has a tribal background.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena fielded party spokesperson Jyoti Waghmare amid speculation that former Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale might be nominated.

From the Nationalist Congress Party, former deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.

With this, two members of the Pawar family are set to become Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra this time.

Parth’s mother Sunetra Pawar, who is now deputy CM, is also a member of the Rajya Sabha. PTI ND NP VT VT