Mumbai, Mar 4 (PTI) The BJP on Wednesday announced four candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Maharashtra, including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and former state minister Vinod Tawde.
Besides Athawale and Todi, the party also nominated former Nagpur Mayor Maya Chintaman Evenit and former Member of Legislative Council Ramrao Wadkot in the biennial elections.
Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are set to fall vacant in April. With over 230 members in the 288-member assembly, the BJP-led Mahayoti alliance is in a position to ensure the election of all its four candidates.
Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra who are retiring this year include Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Athawale, who heads RPI(A), NCP’s (SP) Fouzia Khan, Congress’ Rajni Patel, Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Priyanka Chaturvedi, and BJP leaders Dhananjay Patel and Bhagwat Karad.
Polling is scheduled to take place on March 16 between 9am and 4pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin at 5pm on the same day.
Earlier in the morning, Athawale met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Prime Minister Varsha’s official residence in south Mumbai. A source close to Athawale said the meeting was related to the Rajya Sabha elections.
Wadkot, who is from Hingoli district, told the media that he did not expect the BJP to field him as its candidate. He joined the ruling party a few years ago.
“I joined the BJP because I had confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis. This party works at the ground level. I simply focused on my work without expecting anything in return,” he said.
Wadkute said he had earlier resigned from the position of MLC before completing his term. “I have not approached the party for Rajya Sabha nomination. There is not even a gram panchayat member from my family,” he said.
Taudi expressed his gratitude to his party’s leadership for the nomination and said he was committed to “fulfilling this new responsibility with full dedication and sincerity.”
“Under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji and the leadership of National President @NitinNabin ji, we remain committed at every moment for the welfare of the nation. For this nomination, my respectful thanks to Maharashtra Chief Minister @Dev_Fadnavis ji and State President @RaviDadaChavan ji!”, he said in a post on X.
Former Nagpur Mayor Evenet is currently serving as a member of the city’s civic corporation.
The Election Commission of India has announced elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states. Of these seats, 12 seats are held by the National Democratic Alliance, while 25 seats are held by opposition parties. Rajya Sabha members are elected by MLAs through a system of proportional representation by single transferable vote.
With the demise of MLAs Ajit Pawar and Shivajirao Kardel, the effective strength of the Maharashtra Assembly has come down to 286 for the purpose of quota calculation. A candidate needs 37 votes to be elected.
As per the current composition of the Assembly, the BJP has 131 members after filling one vacancy, while Shiv Sena Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has 57 members. The NCP, led by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, has 40 MLAs after one vacancy.
From the opposition camp, the Congress has 16 MPs, the NCP (Socialist Party) has 10, and the Sena (UBT) has 20.
Among the smaller and other parties, the Samajwadi Party has two MLAs, Jansurajya Shakti has two, Rashtriya Yuva Swabhiman Party (1), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (1), AIMIM (1), CPI-M (1), Peasants and Workers’ Party of India (1), Rajarshi Shahu Vikas Aghadi (1), and there are two independents.
The ruling Mahayoti alliance, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and NCP, along with smaller, independent allies, controls 234 MLAs. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of the Congress Party (SP) and the Sena Party (UBT), along with supporting minor parties, has 49 MLAs, while the others are represented by three.
On the basis of a 37-vote share, the BJP, with the support of an independent, effectively has 132 votes, enabling it to comfortably secure three seats and contest a fourth. The Shiv Sena can get one seat and will have surplus votes then. The National Congress Party can also ensure the election of one member.
The total MVA tally translates into a confirmed election for one candidate. By this calculation, the Mahayoti alliance could win up to six of the seven seats, subject to cross-voting or strategic transfers under the preferential voting system.
