Mumbai: Ramdas Athawale, Vinod Tawde, Sharad Pawar File Nominations For Rajya Sabha Polls From Maharashtra

Political activity gathered pace in Mumbai on Thursday as seven candidates filed their nominations for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Maharashtra. Six nominees from the ruling Mahayuti alliance and one from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi submitted their papers at the Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai on the final day of filing nominations.

Among those in the fray are Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinod Tawde. Veteran leader Sharad Pawar has entered the race as the candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.

The nomination process remained open until 3 pm on Thursday.

Mahayuti Fields Six Candidates

The ruling Mahayuti alliance has fielded six candidates for the seven Rajya Sabha seats that are set to fall vacant next month. The Bharatiya Janata Party has nominated Vinod Tawde, Ramdas Athawale, former Nagpur mayor Maya Chintaman Ivnate, and former Nationalist Congress Party MLC Ramrao Wadkute.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accompanied the BJP nominees during the filing of their nomination papers at the Vidhan Bhavan.

Vinod Tawde, currently serving as the BJP’s national general secretary, had earlier won the Maharashtra assembly election in 2014 and served as the state’s education minister. Though he was denied a ticket in the 2019 assembly election, he later moved to a key organisational role at the national level.

Ramrao Wadkute, once considered close to Sharad Pawar during his time in the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, hails from the Hatkar community in the Marathwada region. He had earlier entered the legislative council with Pawar’s support before later joining the BJP.

Maya Chintaman Ivnate, who previously served as the mayor of Nagpur, is known as the first mayor from a tribal background in the city.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has nominated party spokesperson Jyoti Waghmare for the Upper House. Her candidature came amid speculation that former Lok Sabha MP Rahul Shewale might be nominated.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party led by the late Ajit Pawar has fielded his son Parth Pawar for the Rajya Sabha contest.

Sharad Pawar Enters Race As MVA Candidate

Eighty five year old Sharad Pawar has filed his nomination as the joint candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance after the Congress formally extended support to him earlier this week.

The announcement was made by AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala, bringing clarity after several days of discussions within the opposition bloc over who would represent the alliance.

The decision followed claims from all three MVA partners, Congress, NCP SP and Shiv Sena UBT, for the lone Rajya Sabha seat that the alliance is likely to win based on its strength in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Polling Scheduled On March 16

Voting for the seven Rajya Sabha seats will take place on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, with counting scheduled to begin at 5 pm the same day.

Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly form the electoral college for the Rajya Sabha elections, which are conducted through a system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote.

According to current legislative arithmetic, the Mahayuti alliance is expected to secure six of the seven seats, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi is positioned to win one seat, barring any cross voting or strategic preference transfers.

The upcoming elections are part of a larger exercise announced by the Election Commission of India for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across ten states.

Published on: Thursday, March 05, 2026, 04:04 PM IST