Seven Candidates, Including Sharad Pawar, File Nominations for Rajya Sabha Seats in Maharashtra Seven candidates, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, submitted their nominations for Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra on Thursday. This move ensures that six candidates from the ruling Mahayuti alliance—comprising Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, BJP leader Vinod Tawde, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) nominee Pawar—will be elected unopposed. The political landscape in Maharashtra saw intense maneuvering as parties vied for influence ahead of the election. The Election Commission had announced the contest for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, with seven from Maharashtra. The Mahayuti alliance, with its numerical strength, is expected to secure six seats, while the MVA can claim one. Speculation about additional candidates from the ruling party was tempered by the BJP’s decision to field only four names, a gesture of respect for Pawar if he was nominated as the MVA candidate. The NCP also emphasized that the election would remain unopposed only if Pawar was the MVA nominee, prompting the opposition to rally behind him despite internal tensions. The MVA alliance, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), faced internal strife over the candidature. The Shiv Sena, the largest opposition party in Maharashtra with 20 MLAs, and the NCP, the smallest with 10 legislators, both sought to claim the seat. The winning threshold in Maharashtra is 36 votes, a number the Congress and Shiv Sena could have combined to meet. However, both parties hesitated to endorse Pawar, fearing it would weaken their positions.#maharashtra #rajya_sabha #sharad_pawar #shiv_sena_ubit #mahayuti_alliance
