Unopposed elections to six Rajya Sabha seats appear unlikely

On Thursday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar intimated that the prospects of an unopposed election to the six Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for June 10 appear dismal, making it abundantly evident that an election is unavoidable. The Shiv Sena's decision to field two candidates, relying on its excess votes as well as votes transferred from allies NCP and Congress, has heightened the stakes.

 

Furthermore, if the BJP decides to field a third candidate and Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, who was discarded by the Shiv Sena, decides to run as an independent, both the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the BJP will have to tread carefully in order to avoid cross-voting. At a press conference in Kolhapur on Friday, Sambhajiraje will disclose its proposal. The BJP has not yet revealed its  strategy, but in order to neutralise MVA, it may consider presenting a third candidate. Independents and disaffected legislators from the ruling MVA are being courted by the BJP.

 

However, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut predicted that his party is certain to win two seats, with the NCP and Congress each taking one. Chandrakant Patil, the Maharashtra BJP Chief, stated that if the central leadership approves, his party can run a third candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections and win that seat as well. "If the central leadership tells us to, we'll run a third candidate and win that seat as well." "Based on the strength of the Assembly, two BJP candidates can easily win," he added.

 

The Maha Vikas Aghadi has the backing of 168 legislators in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, including Shiv Sena (55), NCP (53), Congress (44), other parties (8) and independents (8). The BJP, which has 106 legislators, has one politician from Jan Surajya and one from Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, as well as five independents. The BJP has a total of 113 parliamentarians in its ranks. For the election of one candidate, the quota is 41.01 votes.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @MVAGovt