Maharashtra: For sixth Rajya Sabha seat from state, it’s Kolhapur vs Kolhapur

“Besides our surplus votes, we have the support of independents as well. We have 32 votes with us right now. We need 10 more votes and the party will do the needful,” Mahadik told The Indian Express.

“The announcement for the Rajya Sabha seat has not come as a surprise as there were 18 names which the state unit had sent to Delhi. My name was among the 18,” he added.

Along with Mahadik, the BJP has announced the names of Piyush Goyal and Anil Bonde for two Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra. BJP leaders said the party has 106 MLAs. “To get elected to Rajya Sabha, a candidate needs votes from 42 MLAs. The BJP will have two sure-shot seats. The balance votes… will then go in favour of the third candidate,” said BJP leader Sarang Kamtekar.

With BJP picking Mahadik, the sixth seat will see a contest between two leaders who are both from Kolhapur. Mahadik is a former NCP MP from Kolhapur who later joined the BJP, while the Shiv Sena has fielded Sanjay Pawar, the party’s Kolhapur district chief, for the same seat.

The Shiv Sena has been claiming that it will win the sixth seat easily. “NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena, as per their strengths, will get one seat each. The surplus votes of each party collectively comes to 27. We have the support of independents and smaller parties, which can ensure the victory of our second candidate,” said Sena spokesperson and the party’s candidate for RS, Sanjay Raut.

The NCP’s candidate is former Union minister Praful Patel and the Congress has nominated Imran Pratapgarhi from Maharashtra.

Raut said there are 11 smaller parties which have aligned with the MVA. “The 11 smaller parties have 16 votes. These smaller parties have been loyal to the MVA,” he said.

“The possibility of horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha polls can not be denied. But in the interest of Maharashtra, parties should avoid this and ensure that no horse-trading takes place.”

🚨 Limited Time Offer | Express Premium with ad-lite for just Rs 2/ day 👉🏽 Click here to subscribe 🚨

Meanwhile, BJP leader Pankaja Munde, who had lost the 2019 Assembly elections from Beed, denied reports saying she was disappointed to not find her name in the list of Rajya Sabha nominees. “No, I am not disappointed…,” she said. By selecting a leader from Kolhapur, the BJP is trying to strengthen its presence in the district, where it does not have a single MP or MLA. While state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil hails from Kolhapur, he contested and won from the Kothrud assembly segment in Pune city in the 2019 state polls.

The Shiv Sena, meanwhile, won both seats in the district — Kolhapur and Hatkanangale – in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Of the 10 assembly seats in Kolhapur district, the Sena had won one seat in the 2019 elections, Congress won four and NCP won two seats in 2019. The remaining three seats were won by two Independents and one elected member of Jan Surajya Shakti.

The BJP recently lost the Assembly by-polls held in Kolhapur North seat to Congress, with Jayashree Jadhav, wife of deceased Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav, defeating Satyajeet Kadam of BJP by a wide margin. The ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had unitedly fought the by-polls to defeat the BJP and send a message that they were committed to keeping the BJP out of power.