Rajya Sabha elections: The MVA alliance will discuss contesting in the upcoming state

Maharashtra’s ruling Maha Bikash Aghadi will discuss how many seats each alliance partner will contest in the upcoming six Rajya Sabha seats in the state, an MVA leader said on Wednesday, adding that the elections are likely to test Shiv Sena’s strength. Led alliance. Shiv Sena has already said that it wants to elect two of its candidates to the upper house of parliament.

Six Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra – Piyush Goyal, Binoy Sahastrabuddhe and Bikash Mahatma (all three from BJP), P Chidambaram (Congress), Praful Patel (NCP) and Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) will expire on July 4. .

All four parties have not yet announced their candidates.

The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly Electoral College forms the Rajya Sabha election, scheduled for June 10, and requires 42 votes for a candidate to win a seat.

Congress spokesman Atul Londe said on Wednesday that a decision on how many seats each of the three ruling parties would contest would be made after discussions among coalition leaders.

NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapse also said a meeting of the three alliances is expected soon.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut, whose party wants to field two candidates in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that their political opponents were resorting to horse-trading for the sixth seat, but insisted that he had the arithmetic to win the MVA. Sixth seat.

When the MVA, comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, came to power in Maharashtra in November 2019, it demanded the support of 170 MLAs in the Assembly.

Currently, one seat in the House is vacant due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Lat.

Last year, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP lost the Pandharpur by-election, reducing their numbers to one.

The MVA is currently facing various problems including cancellation of OBC quota, investigation by central agencies against some Shiv Sena leaders, while two senior NCP leaders are in jail on various charges.

Gayal, Patel, Chidambaram and Raut can get re-nominations from their respective parties.

However, Shiv Sena’s bid for two seats in the Rajya Sabha could jeopardize the chances of Chhatrapati Sambhajiraj, a member of the Kolhapur royal family and a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who was earlier a presidential nominee in the Rajya Sabha.

Sambhaji Raje has recently announced that he will contest the next Rajya Sabha elections as an independent candidate and has appealed to all parties to support him. He was earlier associated with the BJP.

NCP president Sharad Pawar has hinted that his party may support Sambhajiraj’s candidature, but his election could be difficult if he does not get the next two MVA seats.

In the 288-member state assembly, the BJP currently has 106 MLAs, including Shiv Sena-55, NCP-53, Congress-44, Bahujan Bikash Aghadi-3, Samajwadi Party, AIMIM and Prahar Janshakti Party-2 each, MNS, CPM, Krishak and Workers Party. , Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, Swabhimani Party, Jansurajya Shakti and Krantikari Krishak Party-1. There are 13 independent MLAs, while one seat is vacant.

The notification of Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on May 24.