Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar will represent the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, as the Congress has announced its support for him in the Rajya Sabha elections on March 16.
Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said his party decided to extend support to Pawar after a call from the high command and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, news agency ANI reported.
This comes after the initial disagreement among Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance voters over the only Rajya Sabha seat winnable for the opposition in Maharashtra.
Earlier, the three parties – Congress, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) had previously staked their claim on the seat. The Congress has cited their status as a national party, while the Sena (UBT) has said it has the “first right” because of the Maharashtra Assembly numbers.
“Commitment to Ethics”: Cong MLA Wadettiwar
Congress’s Wadettiwar said his party had earlier won the seat due to its “national party” status. “There has been a strong demand for this,” the Congress leader said, adding that they were contacted by several leaders from Sharad Pawar’s faction in the NCP, who also approached Uddhav Thackeray.
“Among them, Sharad Pawar is the senior… We adhere to the ethics of Maha Vikas Aghadi. Our top leadership has decided to support Pawar Sahib,” PTI quoted Wadettiwar as saying.
Wadettiwar and Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal had last month staked his claim on the seat, asserting that a united decision was needed to effectively challenge the BJP.
Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut also spoke in favor of their party getting the seat. “The Shiv Sena (UBT) is the single largest party in the opposition with 20 MLAs. The Congress has 16 and the Congress Party (SP) has 10,” Raut said. However, all MVA parties have stressed that the decision will be taken through dialogue. “The candidate will be finalized only with the approval of the three parties,” Wadettiwar said.
