Moves are afoot between the Maharashtra Congress and the Shiv Sena-BJP to ensure that there is no contest for the six Rajya Sabha and 10 Legislative Council seats whose elections will be held next month. This is because major political parties can ensure victory of their candidates without a fight.
But a section of the Congress is pressing for contests, saying the Congress-NCP can together win four Rajya Sabha and seven Legislative Council seats. The quota required for winning a Rajya Sabha seat is 42 votes while for a council seat it is 26 votes.
Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan arrived here on Sunday evening to discuss this issue with the central leaders of the party. He was in the capital last week and met AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers A.K. Antony and Sushilkumar Shinde.
Later he met AICC in-charge for Maharashtra affairs A.K. Antony here on Sunday night along with PCC president Manikrao Thakre.
Earlier, Mr Thakre told this newspaper that the party has not taken any decision about how many seats it will contest next month’s election but a decision in this regard could be taken after May 25. If insiders are to be believed, both Mr Chavan and Mr Thakre are unsure of keeping the party MLAs together in the council elections. On the other hand, the Opposition Shiv Sena-BJP is fearing cross-voting in the elections and thus is in a mood to have some understanding with the Congress.
The Congress has 82 MLAs while the NCP 62. The BJP has won 46 and the Shiv Sena got 45 seats in the state Assembly. The Raj Thackeray-led MNS has 13 members, the PWD four, the Samajwadi Party three and the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi two. As many as 30 MLAs come under the category of “others”. According to sources, the NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal, Ajit Pawar and R.R. Patil have full control over their party MLAs and can mobilise additional votes but the chief minister and the PCC chief are unwilling to attract more votes to ensure the Congress’ strength in the Rajya Sabha and the state Legislative Council. From the Congress, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, Avinash Pande, K.L. Gidwani, Hussain Dalwai and Rajni Patil are considered serious contenders for the Rajya Sabha.
Mr Vijay Darda is the sitting RS member and one of the heavyweights for the seat while Uttamsingh Pawar (OBC) and Anant Gadgil are pressing for nominations on the basis of their loyalty.
From the NCP, Ishwarchand Jain has emerged as a strong contender for the RS nomination.