The election for six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra will not be unopposed as BJP has fielded three candidates. BJP, which is stepping up attacks against the Shiv Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, proposes to lure disgruntled legislators and thereby mobilise the adequate votes. Central BJP leadership has accepted the state unit’s proposal to checkmate MVA by fielding three nominees. The last date for filing nominations is May 31 while the polling is slated for June 10.
MVA, which is a divided house amid widening rift among the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, faces a huge challenge to keep its flock together and thereby avoid cross voting. On its part, BJP will go the whole hog to encash the differences among the three parties for winning three candidates. MVA insiders did not rule out rampant horse trading.
BJP has renominated the union minister Piyush Goyal and also gave candidatures to former minister Anil Bonde and former MP Dhananjay Mahadik. Goyal’s renomination was merely a formality but Bonde has been awarded for firing salvos against the MVA government. Bonde, who was agriculture minister in the BJP led government, hails from the Vidarbha region which has become the BJP’s bastion following the fall of the Congress party.
Mahadik, who was a former NCP MP who migrated to the BJP ahead of the 2019 general elections, hails from the sugarcane rich Kolhapur district. He was picked up when Shiv Sena dumped Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje and gave the nomination to Sanjay Pawar who is the Kolhapur district chief.
Although BJP national secretary Vinod Tawde’s name was doing the rounds for the nomination, he has not been considered.
State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said, ‘’ If the central leadership instructs us, we will field a third candidate and win that seat as well. Going by the strength in the Assembly, two candidates of BJP can win easily."
Shiv Sena has nominated Sanjay Raut for the fourth successive term while the party’s Kolhapur district chief Sanjay Pawar has been picked up by the party president and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Raut and Pawar have already filed their nominations on May 26. Raut has repeatedly said the party will contest the second seat and win it banking on its surplus votes and transfer of excess votes by allies NCP and Congress.
NCP has renominated former union minister Praful Patel who will file his nominations on Monday.
As far as Congress is concerned, the state leaders comprising Balasaheb Thorat, Ashok Chavan, Amit Deshmukh and Nana Patole will attend a meeting convened by the party high command on Monday to discuss party candidates.
Mohammad Imran Pratapgarhi, who is an Urdu language poet known for his protest poetry and Congress youth leader from Uttar Pradesh, is expected to be the party’s nominee from Maharashtra. Other names under consideration included former union minister Mukul Wasnik and Milind Deora. Wasnik has been a member of the now fallen G23 group of disgruntled Congress leaders.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has the support of 168 legislators comprising Shiv Sena (55), NCP (53), Congress (44), other parties (8) and independents (8).
In the case of the BJP, which has 106 legislators, it has the support of one legislator each of Jan Surajya and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and five independents. Together, the BJP has a strength of 113 legislators.
The quota is 41.01 votes for the election of one candidate.
(With inputs from agencies)