Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar is set to get a fresh Rajya Sabha term after the Congress on Wednesday declared support to him as the Opposition bloc's candidate from Maharashtra for the lone seat it can win in the March 16 polls to the Upper House of Parliament.
The decision, announced by AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, ended days of speculation about the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate as all three allies - Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) - had staked claim to the lone seat the bloc can win given their strength in the assembly.
Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are falling vacant next month.
The ruling BJP separately named four candidates, including its general secretary Vinod Tawde and Union minister Ramdas Athawale, for the biennial polls, nominations for which will close on March 5.
Chennithala told PTI that the Congress leadership has conveyed to him the decision to support Pawar (85), a sitting Rajya Sabha MP.
On Tuesday night, Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray, whose party has the highest number of MLAs from the Opposition camp, had said no decision has been taken yet on who will be the MVA candidate.
The quota for first preference votes for a candidate to get elected is 36 as the strength of the 288-member legislative assembly has come down to 286. There are two vacancies due to the death of sitting MLAs -- Shivajirao Kardile (BJP), elected from Rahuri in Ahilyanagar district, and Ajit Pawar (NCP), who represented Baramati in Pune district.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has 20 MLAs followed by Congress (16), and NCP-SP (10).
Members of legislative assemblies form the electoral college for Rajya Sabha polls.
Besides Tawde and Athawale, who heads the RPI (Athawale), a BJP ally, the saffron outfit has fielded Nagpur corporator and ex-mayor of the city Maya Chintaman Ivnate and former member of the legislative council (MLC) Ramrao Wadkute for the biennial elections.
With over 230 MLAs in the 288-member assembly, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the NCP and the Shiv Sena, is in a position to ensure the election of all its nominees. The NCP and Shiv Sena have to nominate one candidate each.
The Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra whose 6-year term is ending in April are: Pawar, Athawale, Fauzia Khan of NCP (SP), Rajni Patil (Congress), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), and Dhananjay Patil and Bhagwat Karad (both from BJP).
Polling will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, with counting is scheduled to commence at 5 pm the same day.
In the morning, Athawale met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the latter's official residence 'Varsha' in south Mumbai.
Wadkute, who is from Hingoli district, told the media that he had not expected to be fielded as a candidate by the BJP, which he joined a few years ago.
"I joined the BJP because I had faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Fadnavis. This party works at the ground level. I simply focused on my work without expecting anything in return," he said.
Tawde expressed his gratitude to party leadership for the nomination and said he is committed to "fulfilling this new responsibility with complete dedication and loyalty".
"Under the guidance of the Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji and the leadership of National President @NitinNabin ji, we remain committed every moment for the nation's welfare. For this nomination, respectful thanks to Maharashtra's Chief Minister @Dev_Fadnavis ji and State President @RaviDadaChavan ji!," Tawde said in a post on X.
The Election Commission of India has announced elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states. Of these seats, 12 are currently held by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), while 25 are with Opposition parties. Rajya Sabha members are elected by MLAs through a system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
According to the present composition of the assembly, the BJP has 131 MLAs after accounting for one vacancy, while Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has 57 members. The NCP, led by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, has 40 MLAs after one vacancy.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance, which also includes smaller parties and Independents, commands the support of 234 MLAs. The Opposition MVA, along with supporting smaller parties, has 49 MLAs.
On the basis of vote quota, the BJP, with the support of an Independent, effectively has 132 votes, enabling it to secure three seats comfortably and contend for a fourth. The Shiv Sena can secure one seat and would have surplus votes thereafter. The NCP can also ensure the election of one member.
The MVA's combined tally translates into the assured election of one candidate. By this arithmetic, the Mahayuti alliance can win six of the seven seats, subject to cross-voting or strategic transfers under the preferential voting system.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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