Maharashtra: BJP, Shiv Sena locked in fierce fight for victory of sixth Rajya Sabha seat as 7 nominees in fray

Maharashtra: BJP, Shiv Sena locked in fierce fight for victory of sixth Rajya Sabha seat as 7 nominees in fray

The polling is on June 10

Sanjay JogUpdated: Friday, June 03, 2022, 11:34 PM IST
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Maharashtra: BJP, Shiv Sena locked in fierce fight for victory of sixth Rajya Sabha seat as 7 nominees in fray |

BJP & Shiv Sena locked in fierce fight for the victory of sixth Rajya Sabha seat as 7 nominees are in fray

On the withdrawal day today, BJP and Shiv Sena nominees did not withdraw

MVA earlier proposed BJP to withdraw its third candidate to pave way for an unopposed election

However, BJP rejected MVA's offer saying it being a pan-India party every RS seat is important

Mumbai: For the first time in nearly 18 years, there will be no unopposed elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra, as no candidate from the ruling MVA or the BJP withdrew their nominations on Friday, the last day to do so. With seven candidates currently in the fray, the BJP and the Shiv Sena are locked in a fierce fight for victory in the sixth seat. Polling will be held on June 10.

The BJP has fielded Union Minister Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde and former MP Dhananjay Mahadik, while the Shiv Sena has fielded Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar. The NCP has fielded former Union Minister Praful Patel and the Congress’s nominee is a poet, Imran Pratapgarhi. Both the BJP and the MVA are busy holding their respective flocks together. The BJP is focussed on luring Independents while the MVA claims to have the support of the latter.

In order to have an unopposed election, an MVA delegation, comprising Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Kedar, Satej Patil and Anil Desai, met Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Friday, requesting his party to withdraw its third candidate. In return, the BJP could field a fifth nominee in the upcoming state council election for 10 seats on June 20, the MVA offered.

However, the BJP rejected the MVA proposal. State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that the BJP had suggested the Shiv Sena withdraw its second nominee, paving the way for an unopposed election. In exchange, the BJP would not field a fifth nominee in the state council election.

Fadnavis said, “When we are confident of getting all three candidates elected, where is the question of withdrawing from the race? The BJP is a pan-India party. Every Rajya Sabha seat is important for us.”

NCP minister Bhujbal said, “We put forward a proposal before the BJP. We urged them to withdraw their third candidate from the Rajya Sabha polls. In exchange, we offered them one additional seat in the legislative council. The BJP has turned down the proposal.”

With both sides sticking to their respective stands, the election has become inevitable.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut hinted at horse-trading during the polling, alleging that the BJP has imposed the election. “The BJP, by imposing the contest, is promoting horse-trading. Independent candidates will be subjected to pressure from Central agencies and forced to pledge support to the BJP candidates,” he said.

State NCP chief Jayant Patil said that the ruling coalition had wanted to avoid horse-trading. “We were expecting the BJP to show flexibility, as there has been a tradition of unopposed polls to the Rajya Sabha for several years. We did not want a contest,” he said.

However, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil denied talk of horse-trading, saying that legislators would vote with their conscience.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with MVA leaders to discuss strategy for the smooth sailing of the Shiv Sena’s second nominee, Sanjay Pawar, against BJP nominee Dhananjay Mahadik.

After the meeting, Raut said efforts would be made to avoid a split in the MVA’s votes. “It was also decided that MVA partners would issue separate whips for their legislators,” he added.

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