MVA, BJP fail to reach common ground for Rajya Sabha polls

This will be for the first time in more than nearly two decades that time the state will see a fierce election to the Upper House of the Parliament since 1998

Political allies-turned-rivals Shiv Sena and BJP would have to battle it out for the sixth seat of Rajya Sabha as talks between the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi and the saffron opposition party in Maharashtra failed.

This will be for the first time in more than nearly two decades that the state will see a fierce election to the Upper House of the Parliament since 1998.

Back then, the election was held as per the secret ballot system, while the voters needed to show their vote to the party whip before dropping it into the ballot box.

For the six vacant seats, seven are in the fray - three from BJP and four from the MVA side - two from Shiv Sena and one each from Congress and NCP.

The electoral college is the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

The minimum votes needed is 41.01 (42) for winning one seat - but the BJP has claimed that they had the support of Independents to win the elections, however, the MVA said that they have no doubt that all four candidates would be elected.

BJP has fielded three candidates - Piyush Goyal, who is the Commerce & Industry Minister in the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Dr Anil Bonde, a party stalwart from the Vidarbha region, and Dhananjay Mahadik, a former MP from Kolhapur.

With the present arithmetic and the presence of an extra candidate - the key battle would be between Pawar (Shiv Sena) and Mahadik (BJP), both of them incidentally from Kolhapur.

While Pawar is a loyal Shiv Sena worker for over 25 years, Mahadik is a sugar baron, a former NCP MP, whose relationship cuts across party lines.

On Friday, MVA leaders - Food and Civil Supplies Minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Kedar of the Congress and Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena met Leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP President Chandrakant Patil.

Bhujbal said, “We proposed that if BJP withdraws its third candidate to facilitate an unopposed election to the Rajya Sabha the MVA in return would offer then one seat in Maharashtra Legislative Council, where biennial elections to 10 seats are scheduled later this month”.

However, Patil added, “The MVA can withdraw its fourth candidate for Rajya Sabha and take an additional seat for the Maharashtra Legislative Council.”

Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that all the four MVA candidates will win the elections.

“We wanted that an election could have been avoided but they have not accepted the offer,” said state Revenue Minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat.