Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar(L) and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut
Credit: PTI Photos
Mumbai: In what comes as some sort of a respite to the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi opposition alliance, the BJP-led ruling Maha Yuti did not put any additional candidate paving way for the official nominees from both sides to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.
Seven candidates are in fray for six seats in the biennial elections to the Upper House of the Parliament.
Veteran Congressman, former minister and ex-Mumbai mayor Chandrakant Handore is the candidate of the MVA which besides the grand old party comprises Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and their smaller allies.
The decision to nominate Handore, a Dalit leader, has checked the BJP’s move to put up an additional candidate.
The three BJP candidates are - Ashok Chavan, a former two-time Congress chief minister, Medha Kulkarni, a former BJP MLA from Kothrud in Pune and Dr Ajeet Gopchade, an RSS pracharak-turned-BJP leader, who is currently the vice president of the state unit.
State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis burnt midnight oil to select the candidates and get approval from the BJP central leadership and also those of the two allies.
While Chavan, a veteran Maratha leader, was certain to be accommodated in Rajya Sabha when he switched over from BJP to Congress, Kulkarni’s nomination was a surprise as he was ignored during the previous Lok Sabha polls. Coming from an OBC family, Dr Gopchade, an MBBS and MD, had taken part during the kar seva when the Babri Masjid was demolished. His photo of standing atop of the structure has gone viral on social media platforms.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena fielded Milind Deora, a former two-time MP from Mumbai South, who had been a minister in the Dr Manmohan Singh-headed UPA government. Deora had left Congress last month to join the Shiv Sena.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP fielded veteran leader and former civil aviation minister Praful Patel, who still had four-and-a-half-years to go as a member of Rajya Sabha.
Asked about the decision, Patel, who was once the closest confidante of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, refused to comment, but said: “This is part of a political strategy and things will get clear in the coming days.”
To get re-elected, Patel will resign from his current seat, which would annul the disqualification petition. After getting elected in February 2024, he will get the six-year term till February 2030, which is two years more - and the NCP may claim the vacant seat during the bye-elections.
An independent candidate Vishwas Jagtap too filed the nomination.
The political parties have the necessary quota to win if elections are held.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said: "Ashok Chavan came and within 24 hours he was made a Rajya Sabha candidate. What is the relation between Milind Deora and the fake Shiv Sena?... This is the biggest defeat of Eknath Shinde that he could not make his own people the candidate."
However, Shinde said: "All candidates of the Maha Yuti will be victorious. We have an absolute majority. These elections can be unopposed too. Milind Deora is an honest and highly educated candidate who has also been a minister. He has good political and grassroots experience... We have full faith that he will work well at the National level and also prove to be a good decision for the party."