Union Minister and RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale after submitting his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election, in Mumbai on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Seven candidates, together with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, on Thursday filed nominations for seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra. With this, six candidates of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, together with Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Vinod Tawde, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) nominee, Mr. Pawar, are set to get elected unopposed.
The run-up to the ultimate day for submitting nomination witnessed intense political drama – from all three events of the Opposition MVA staking declare to at least one Rajya Sabha seat to Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde holding his playing cards near his chest till the final minute.
The Election Commission issued a notification final month to announce election to 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 States. Of them, seven are from Maharashtra. Due to the numerical power, the ruling Mahayuti can get six candidates elected whereas the MVA can get one. There had been speculations of extra candidates being fielded by the ruling dispensation. But the BJP, in response to sources, determined to not discipline extra candidates, as a mark of respect, if Mr. Pawar was named the MVA candidate.
The NCP (SP) too insisted that the election can be unopposed provided that Mr. Pawar was nominated from the MVA. So, the Opposition lastly rallied behind him, however not with out hectic politicking, shadowed by mistrust.
It was additionally reflective of the dearth of belief between two of the three MVA allies – the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT). Sena (UBT) is the most important Opposition social gathering in Maharashtra with 20 MLAs whereas the NCP (SP) is the smallest with 10 legislators. For the Rajya Sabha seat, the successful quantity in Maharashtra stands at 36 votes. The Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) would have collectively had the numbers to get one candidate elected. But each the events anticipated one another to say no to Mr. Pawar.
While the Shiv Sena (UBT) initially staked declare to the candidature on the “merit of numbers” and the precept of rotation, the Congress stated a celebration candidate would strengthen its place because the Opposition social gathering in Parliament. “But nobody wants to hurt Sharad Pawar and say no to him. There was a time when we offered to give our support to Shiv Sena (UBT) if they said no to Sharad Pawar. But they never did,” a senior Congress chief instructed The Hindu.
A Shiv Sena (UBT) chief contested the declare and stated whereas the Congress anticipated it to ship a unfavorable message to Mr. Pawar, the grand previous social gathering wished the candidature for itself. “So, we would have been the bad party. And for what?” the chief stated. Both the events stated the most important issue was the reassurance by Mr. Pawar that the talks of a merger with the NCP won’t occur anymore and that the NCP (SP) will proceed to stay within the INDIA bloc. “Soon after [NCP-SP leader] Jayant Patil made the announcement, we decided to give Pawar saheb our support. Looking at his age and his health, nobody wants to hurt him,” a frontrunner stated. Mr. Pawar, 85, accomplished 60 years in energetic political life this 12 months. In a publish on X on Thursday, he thanked the individuals of Maharashtra and his alliance companions for trusting him with one other Rajya Sabha time period for six years.
Shinde modified plan
It was due to Mr. Pawar’s nomination that Mr. Shinde additionally shelved his plan of negotiating for 2 candidates within the election. “It was a mark of respect for the senior leader. Nobody wants to hurt him at his age,” a Sena chief stated. Springing a shock, Mr. Shinde named Jyoti Waghmare, a neighborhood chief, because the social gathering’s Rajya Sabha nominee.
The BJP named 4 candidates from 4 totally different caste communities.
Published – March 06, 2026 01:53 am IST
