Hectic lobbying has begun for the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council nominations in the Maharashtra Congress ahead of the elections next month.
While Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) spokesman K.L. Gidwani on Tuesday virtually announced his candidature for the Rajya Saha seat claiming that he could get 20 to 30 votes from the non-Congress parties if the leadership decides to contest a third seat.
Mr Gidwani, the former legislator, said he has already put his case before defence minister and AICC in-charge for Maharashtra A.K. Antony, chief minister Ashok Chavan and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Manikrao Thakre for consideration.
The Congress, he said, can win two Rajya Sabha seats on its own on the basis of its strength in the Assembly. The Congress has 82 members and a quota of votes required to win each seat is 42. He said the NCP (62 members) too can win one seat comfortably and could transfer its surplus votes to the Congress if it contests a third seat. “I met Sharad Pawarji a few days back in New Delhi and he was favourable... saying persons like me should be here.” Mr Gidwani told reporters here on Tuesday.
He further said the Congress-NCP together can win four Rajya Sabha seats and seven Maharashtra Legislative Council seats (four Congress and three NCP) if they work out a joint strategy.
The Rajya Sabha election is for six seats while the Legislative Council election for 10 seats.
The BJP (46 MLAs) and the Shiv Sena (45) can own one Rajya Sabha seat each. The interesting factor in these elections would be the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (13), PWP (4), Samajwadi Party (3), Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (2) and the CPI (1). Their total strength is 23.
Besides, MLAs come under the category of “others” is 30. This means a bloc of 53 MLAs outside the Congress-NCP and the BJP-Shiv Sena could play a key role for a Rajya Sabha and at least two Legislative Council seats if they remain together. And they will also gain even if they are divided because aspirants in the four major political parties would depend on them for votes.
In the Congress, OBCs, muslims, brahmins and non-Marathas are staking their claim on the Rajya Sabha and the Council seats. The chief minister, who has been his cards close to the chest, had atleast three rounds of meeting with Mr Antony and the Central leaders in the last few days. He also met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
In the last election, industrialist Rahul Bajaj got elected as an Independent with the help of the NCP, Shiv Sena and the BJP while the Shetkari Sanghathana leader Sharad Joshi won on the additional votes of the Sena-BJP.