Pawar had told me he wants to contest for the Rajya Sabha seat. If Pawar is keen to become Rajya Sabha MP again, the MVA will take a call on it, he had said.
Amid speculation that the Maha Vikas Aghadi has finalised the name of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar for the Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra, both the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday said no final decision has been taken as yet.
“NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and Jayant Patil met Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshri today… No decision has been made on the Rajya Sabha seat as yet and will be made soon,” said Aaditya Thackeray in a social media post.
Congress MLC Satej Patil rejected speculation that Sharad Pawar’s name was finalised for the RS seat from Maharashtra. He however said the NCP (SP) wants Pawar to be fielded by the MVA. “The MVA has not taken any decision so far regarding who should be nominated for the RS seat from Maharashtra. We will be holding the discussions in next two days and will finalise the name,” Patil said.
Patil said though the NCP (SP) want Pawar to be fielded by MVA, there are some claimants from both Sena and Congress. “From our side we have a few names like Balasaheb Thorat and Sachin Sawant and a few senior Congress leaders. Similarly, in Sena too senior party leaders are seeking the RS nomination. On the other hand, the NCP (SP) wants Pawar to be fielded. MVA leaders will sit, discuss and then take a unanimous decision,” Patil said.
When asked whether Sharad Pawar will contest the Rajya Sabha seat, Supriya Sule, MP and working president of NCP (SP), said, “We will want him to.”
The NCP (SP) leaders have met the Congress national leadership and tried to convince them to give Sharad Pawar one last opportunity to. The Congress leadership has apparently agreed, a senior party leader said.
Party sources said the Congress needs two MPs to keep the opposition leader’s post with it in Rajya Sabha. When he was asked about speculation that Pawar might in future join the BJP-led NDA, Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut dismissed the possibility. “This is all a figment of imagination. I have known Sharad Pawar for years. I can say with certainty that Sharad Pawar will never go with NDA,” Raut had told media persons yesterday.
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Last month, Raut had claimed that Sharad Pawar was keen on going to Rajya Sabha once again. “I recently met Sharad Pawar and asked him whether he wants to go to Rajya Sabha again. Pawar had told me he wants to contest for the Rajya Sabha seat. If Pawar is keen to become Rajya Sabha MP again, the MVA will take a call on it,” he had said.
The terms of as many as seven Rajya Sabha MPs from Maharashtra will come to end in April, with Sharad Pawar being one of them. The Sena has the highest MLAs at 20, followed by Congress, 16, and NCP (SP), 10. With a strength of 235 MLAs, the Mahayuti can get six MPs elected comfortably. Similarly the MVA with a combined strength of 46 MLAs can get a lone Rajya Sabha MP elected.
The election to the 37 seats of Rajya Sabha in the country will be held on March 16. There are seven seats in Maharashtra, followed by 6 in Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal has 5, Odisha has 4, Assam has 3, Telangana 2. Chhatisgarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh has one seat each.
The BJP-led Mahayuti has numbers on its side to get six MPs elected. Of the six, BJP will have four, Shiv Sena one and NCP one. From NCP, the name of Parth Pawar, son of Ajit Pawar, has been finalised, sources said. The Shinde Sena has not yet finalised the name of its candidate. Thursday is the last day for filing the nomination for Rajya Sabha seat.
Manoj Dattatrye More is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, having been with the publication since 1992. Based in Pune, he is a veteran journalist with a 33-year career that spans editorial desk work, investigative reporting, and political analysis.
Professional Legacy
Experience: He spent his first 16 years on the editorial desk before moving into active field reporting. He has written over 20,000 stories, including more than 10,000 bylined articles.
Impact Journalism: He is widely respected for "campaign-style" reporting that leads to tangible social change.
Road Safety: His decade-long campaign regarding the dangerous state of the Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki resulted in a ₹23 crore reconstruction project in 2006, which dramatically reduced fatalities.
Environmental Protection: His reports against tree cutting on the Pune-Mumbai and Pune-Nashik highways saved approximately 2,000 trees.
Anti-Corruption: During the COVID-19 pandemic, he exposed a scam where doctors were being asked to pay bribes for government jobs, resulting in them being hired without payment.
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Manoj More's recent work focuses heavily on the shifting political landscape of Maharashtra and civic governance in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area:
1. Political Shifts & Alliances
"Ajit Pawar's NCP continues domination in Pune, wins 10 of 17 local bodies" (Dec 21, 2025): A major report on the local self-government election results, detailing the NCP’s stronghold in Baramati, Indapur, and Lonavala.
"BJP ropes in 13 ex-corporators, deals major blow to NCP" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant political defection in Pimpri-Chinchwad as the BJP gears up for civic polls.
"Congress opts for solo BMC run as alliance talks with Sena (UBT) collapse" (Dec 17, 2025): Covering the breakdown of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) talks for the Mumbai civic elections.
"NCP(SP)'s Rahul Kalate, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjog Waghere set to join BJP" (Dec 19, 2025): Detailing high-profile party-hopping ahead of the municipal elections.
2. Civic & Administrative Accountability
"PCMC draws ire for issuing tenders worth Rs 250 crore just before poll code" (Dec 17, 2025): An investigative piece on the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s last-minute spending spree before election restrictions.
"93 killed in 76 accidents in five years: Bypass service roads in Pune remain undeveloped for 18 yrs" (Nov 16, 2025): A critical look at the long-delayed infrastructure projects contributing to fatalities on Pune’s bypass roads.
3. Social & Labor Issues
"As state says TCS has laid off 376 employees: FITE flags figures, say nearly 2,500 were forced to quit" (Dec 11, 2025): Investigating conflicting reports regarding IT sector layoffs in Maharashtra.
"Maharashtra govt move to 'downgrade' Aadhaar cards" (Nov 30, 2025): Reporting on the state’s decision to require additional documents alongside Aadhaar to combat identity misuse.
Signature Beat
Manoj More is the definitive voice on Pimpri-Chinchwad, an industrial hub he has covered for three decades. His reporting is characterized by its aggressive stance against local "gondaism" (thuggery) and a relentless focus on civic infrastructure—choked drains, garbage management, and public transport.
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