In a significant move, the Shiv Sena will field two candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections from Maharashtra. The party will renominate the sitting MP and chief spokesman Sanjay Raut while it proposes to contest another seat banking on its own excess votes and transfer of excess votes by ruling partners NCP and Congress. This was announced by Transport Minister Anil Parab who is close confidant of the CM Uddhav Thackeray. This clearly means that Shiv Sena is not in a mood to extend support to Chhatrapati Sambhaji who has already declared to contest as an independent. He was nominated by the BJP in the upper house.
A senior Shiv Sena leader, who is close to the Chief Minister, told the Free Press Journal, ‘’CM is determined to give candidature to a Shiv Sainik and not to an outsider. CM is banking on the party’s excess votes and also transfer of excess votes by NCP and Congress.’’ He further said that CM’s decision is important as during the last Rajya Sabha elections, the Shiv Sena had transferred the excess votes to NCP nominee Fauzia Khan. ‘’It was decided after the last Rajya Sabha elections, that the NCP and Congress will transfer excess votes to the Shiv Sena’s second nominee,’’ he added.
Another Shiv Sena minister said the Maha Vikas Aghadi government together expects to win four of the six seats from Maharashtra for which polling is slated for June 10. The BJP will win two seats.
As per the present party wise strength, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has support of 168 of the 288 legislators comprising Shiv Sena 55, NCP 53, Congress 44, other parties 8 and independents 8. Based on their individual strengths, Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are confident of victory of one seat each with a quota of 42 required for the election of one seat.
In case of BJP with 106 legislators, it has the support of one legislator each of Jan Surajya and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and five independents. Together, BJP has a strength of 113 legislators. With this BJP is confident of victory of two nominees.
If BJP decides to field one more seat, then the MVA faces an acid test to keep its flock together as observers hint at horse trading.
The election is necessary as the term of sitting six Rajya Sabha members will be over in July. They included Praful Patel (NCP), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), P Chidambaram (Congress), Piyush Goyal and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme (BJP).
