HomePolitics NewsBJP-Shiv Sena battle for Maharashtra’s 6th Rajya Sabha seat hots up; all eyes on smaller parties

BJP-Shiv Sena battle for Maharashtra’s 6th Rajya Sabha seat hots up; all eyes on smaller parties

In the current situation, both BJP's Dhananjay Mahadik and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Pawar will get around 25 to 30 votes as first preference votes, which is not sufficient to win the seat. Victory can only be decided by second-choice votes and smaller parties and Independents will be the deciding factor.

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By Priyanka Rathi  June 3, 2022, 12:06:24 PM IST (Published)

BJP-Shiv Sena battle for Maharashtra’s 6th Rajya Sabha seat hots up; all eyes on smaller parties

The race for the sixth seat of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra will see a battle between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena. Both parties are falling short of numbers and are going all out to get their candidate elected to the Upper House of Parliament.



Looking at the maths behind the polls, a candidate needs support from 42 MLAs to be elected. The BJP has 105 MLAs and has named three candidates from the state — Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonde, and Dhananjay Mahadik.


Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs,  Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has 54 MLAs, and Congress has 44 MLAs. While Shiv Sena has named two candidates, Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar, NCP has named Praful Patel, and Congress chose Imran Pratapgarhi as their candidate. The three parties can easily send one of their candidates to the Upper House as they have the required numbers.


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Shiv Sena might face a tough time with its second candidate, Sanjay Pawar. "We have the numbers. There was never a tough fight and candidates were elected unanimously. We have the numbers and we are going to win the seat," said Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.


For the BJP, getting the numbers for the third candidate will be challenging. BJP has comfortable numbers for Goyal and Bonde but is falling short to get Mahadik elected. In the current situation, both Mahadik and Pawar will get around 25-30 votes as first preference votes, which is not sufficient to win the seat. The second-choice votes can only decide victory.


The BJP has not yet responded to the query.

Also, NCP's Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh are in police custody. And Shiv Sena's MLA Ramesh Latke died recently and BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap is undergoing treatment at a hospital. And these MLAs cannot vote in these polls.

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The buck now stops with the smaller parties and Independents — and the big question is which party will they support in these polls.


Political analyst Sanjay Jha said the majority of them are likely to support the Shiv Sena candidate. "NCP will support Shiv Sena. Congress may do cross-voting given the bickerings with Shiv Sena. But the majority are likely to support the ruling coalition in the state," Jha said.


It is believed that Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress will stick together in these polls. The ruling coalition also has an upper hand and smaller parties and Independents will also take into consideration various aspects before voting for a candidate. It should not be forgotten that the Maharashtra Assembly elections are two-and-a-half years away.


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