Mumbai, March 4 – The BJP announced its four candidates from Maharashtra for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections on Wednesday. The party has strategically focused on organizational influence and "social engineering."
The most prominent name on the list is Vinod Tawde, the BJP National General Secretary and in-charge of Bihar. This nomination marks Tawde's return to active parliamentary politics after being away from the legislative arena since 2019.
Alongside Tawde, the party has renominated Ramdas Athawale, the National President of the RPI (Athawale) faction and incumbent Union Minister of State. The other two candidates include Maya Chintaman Ivnate, a tribal leader, former Mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, and Ramrao Wadkute, hailing from the Dhangar community from Hingoli district.
Political analysts suggest that the BJP has carefully curated this list to appeal to diverse demographics and regions. By selecting these four individuals, the party has attempted to represent the Maratha, Tribal, OBC, and Dalit communities through social engineering.
Furthermore, the BJP has attempted to achieve regional balance, as the candidates represent a geographical spread across Vidarbha, Marathwada, and Konkan, ensuring that the party's influence is maintained across different parts of Maharashtra.
Biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha's seven seats in Maharashtra are scheduled for March 16, and the final date for filing nominations is March 5.
The NCP has already announced the nomination of Parth Pawar, the son of late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The Shiv Sena and the Maha Vikas Aghadi have yet to announce their candidates.
The BJP is in a strong position, and the elevation of the four nominees is certain in view of its present strength.
On the other hand, one candidate each from Shiv Sena, NCP, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi will be elected, considering their respective strengths in the state Assembly.
The ruling Mahayuti has 233 members – 131 from the BJP, 57 from the Shiv Sena, and 40 from the NCP – and is likely to win six seats, with the support of smaller parties and independents, which number nine.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has 46 – the Shiv Sena (UBT) has 20, the Congress has 16, and the NCP (SP) has 10 – and can therefore only win one seat.
