Rajya Sabya contest for all 6 seats from Maharashtra likely to be unopposed

Mumbai: The upcoming election to six seats of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra is likely to be unopposed considering the strength of the ruling allies and the opposition Congress in the Assembly, unlike the May 2022 scenario when the Maha Vikas Aghadi faced a setback despite in power at that time.

Six seats from Maharashtra are up for grabs as the terms of the sitting MPs are expiring. The election is scheduled for February 27.

"It seems the Rajya Sabha election would be unopposed one," state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule told reporters on Wednesday without elaborating.

The BJP, part of the ruling 'Mahayuti' coalition in Maharashtra, has nominated new entrant and former Congress stalwart Ashok Chavan, ex-MLA Medha Kulkarni, and RSS worker Dr Ajit Gopchade.

BJP's ally Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has fielded former Congress MP Milind Deora, while Congress picked former state minister Chandrakant Handore.

The suspense, however, continues over the sixth candidate as the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has not opened the cards.

The 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-helmed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the 'Mahayuti' candidates will file their nominations on February 15.

Amid animated discussions on the nomination for Chavan, who was associated with Congress for nearly four decades before crossing over to the saffron fold, Bawankule said, "The BJP nominated Chavan owing to his long career in the state politics".

"I hope our nominees, once get elected to the Upper House of Parliament, will raise the issues concerning the people of Maharashtra," he said and extended his best wishes to Congress nominee Handore.

With the existing strength of 284 MLAs, each RS seat needs a quota of 41 votes in the Maharashtra assembly to win.

Considering the strength of the BJP, which has 105 MLAs and is believed to enjoy the support of some Independents and other smaller allies, it can send three members to the Upper House of the Parliament.

The Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and the opposition Congress can win one seat each.

The Shiv Sena has 40 members in the Assembly and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has 45. The opposition Congress has 43 MLAs.

Meanwhile, responding to a query about the agenda of a meeting of Mahayuti allies held at CM Shinde's residence on Tuesday night, Fadnavis said discussions were mainly centred around a seat-sharing formula for upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"We also discussed the campaign strategy for the general elections, besides the campaign schedule and prospective venues," he added.

In the election held for six Rajya Sabha seats in May 2022, the MVA comprising Shiv Sena (undivided), NCP, and Congress, suffered a major setback despite being in power with the opposition BJP bagging three seats.

Notably, the election was held after 24 years at that time following the refusal of the then Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis to have a consensus candidate for the Rajya Sabha.

The contest was for the sixth seat for which the BJP had fielded former MP Dhananjay Mahadik and the Shiv Sena candidate was Sanjay Pawar, who lost.

The BJP winners include Union minister Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde, and Dhananjay Mahadik.

The high-stakes battle for the sixth seat turned out to be a nail-biting affair with the Congress and BJP trading charges and even approaching the Election Commission.