Summary of this article
The BJP has renominated Ramdas Athawale and fielded Vinod Tawde, Maya Chintaman Ivnate and Ramrao Wadkute for seven seats falling vacant in April.
While Supriya Sule is rallying support for Sharad Pawar, the Sena (UBT) has agreed to back him, but the Congress has not formally confirmed its stand.
Voting will take place on March 16, followed by the counting same day.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced four candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections from Maharashtra. It renominated Union minister Ramdas Athawale (RPI-Athawale) and former state minister Vinod Tawde. The party has also nominated former Nagpur mayor Maya Chintaman Ivnate and ex-MLC Ramrao Wadkute.
Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra will fall vacant in April. With 234 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is well placed to secure all four of its nominees. Voting is scheduled for March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, with counting to begin at 5 pm.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale, Fauzia Khan (NCP-SP), Rajni Patil (Congress), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv sena UBT), and BJP leaders Dhananjay Patil and Bhagwat Karad are among retiring this year.
The effective strength of the Assembly stands at 286 following two vacancies after the demise of Ajit Pawar and MLA Shivaji Kardile. This brings the winning quota to 37 votes per candidate under the single transferable vote system.
The BJP has 131 MLAs, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has 57, and the NCP led by Sunetra Pawar has 40 MLAs. Together, the ruling Mahayuti commands 234 MLAs. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising Congress (16), NCP-SP (10) and Sena (UBT) (20) — has 49 MLAs, with smaller parties and Independents accounting for the rest.
On current arithmetic, the BJP can comfortably win three seats and remain competitive for a fourth. The Shiv Sena and NCP can secure one seat each. The MVA’s tally ensures one seat.
Among MVA, the candidates have not been finalized yet. Supriya Sule is garnering support for Sharad Pawar’s candidature within MVA. Shiv Sena (UBT) agreed to support him, however Congress is yet to confirm its support to Pawar.
(With inputs from PTI)
