‘Numbers are in our favour’: BJP-led Mahayuti will win 6 Rajya seats in Maharashtra, says Devendra Fadnavis

The elections for seven Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra will take place on March 16.

The seven candidates in Maharashtra whose tenure in the Upper House will come to end necessitating elections are Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP), Bhagwat Karad (BJP), Fauzia Khan (NCP-SP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena UBT), Dhairyasheel Patil (BJP), Rajani Patil (Congress), and Ramdas Athavale (RPI). All these candidates’ tenure will end on April 2.

Members of the state Legislative Assembly elect Rajya Sabha representatives, as MLAs cast their votes for candidates nominated by their respective parties or alliances.

Based on the individual parties’ strength in the Maharashtra Assembly, the BJP will claim four, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party one each, and the Mahayuti will have six seats.

Given the current strength, where the Mahayuti with 230 seats is in the majority in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partners have an upper hand over the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi with 46 MLAs.

The Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT) together can get only one candidate elected.

The notification for the Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on February 26. The last date for filing the nominations will be March 5. The scrutiny of the candidate form will take place the following day on March 6. Whereas, the last date for withdrawal of the candidature will be March 9.

The polling for the Rajya Sabha will be on March 19 from 9 am to 4 pm. After counting the results will be announced the same day.