Raut says Sena will contest 6th Rajya Sabha seat, urges Sambhaji Raje to join party

The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of talk of Sena contesting the sixth seat while Sambhaji Raje had announced that he would contest for a Rajya Sabha seat independently, and sought support from all parties for his election.

“We have the numbers required to win the sixth seat and are sure of winning it… and it will be a Shiv Sena candidate. We have respect for Sambhaji Raje. Uddhavji also respects him. We have supported every movement of yours. We have decided to send an MVA candidate to the Rajya Sabha. So, he should join the MVA,” said Raut while speaking to a regional television channel.

Raut further said that if Sambhaji Raje wanted to fight independently, then he should do so on his own.

The Rajya Sabha elections for the six seats have been announced by the Election Commission as the term of sitting Rajya Sabha members will end in July. The elections will be held on June 10. The members whose terms will end include Sanjay Raut from Shiv Sena, Praful Patel from NCP, P Chidambaram from Congress and Piyush Goyal, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme from BJP.

Raut also taunted state congress chief Nana Patole over his remarks that Mumbai was never flooded during the Congress regime in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

“Does Nana Patole even remember when the Congress mayor was there in Mumbai? He should study Congress. It seems that he has missed
out on some things from the study. We are also optimistic about the growth of Congress. Once upon a time, the Congress ruled over Mumbai… now, the Shiv Sena is the king of Mumbai,” said Raut.