Mumbai, February 19 The battle for limited opposition seats in Maharashtra intensified on Thursday as Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray virtually staked his party's claim to the Maha Vikas Aghadi's lone winnable seats in the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.
Pointing to the current strength of the state assembly, Thackeray suggested that the arithmetic favors his party over its MVA allies, the Congress and the NCP (SP). In the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, the Sena (UBT) has 20 legislators, followed by the Congress (16) and NCP-SP (10).
"If you look at the figures, the (Rajya Sabha) seat belongs to the Sena (UBT), and talks will definitely happen in that direction within the MVA," Thackeray said.
The Election Commission is scheduled to officially announce the polls for seven Rajya Sabha seats, scheduled for March 16, on February 26. Among the prominent leaders whose terms are expiring is NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Pawar has already signaled his intention to seek re-election, according to Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by MLAs, and given the massive strength of the Mahayuti, they are likely to win six out of the seven seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming polls. This leaves the entire opposition (MVA) with just one winnable seat, which could trigger tensions among its partners.
The BJP-led Mahayuti has a comfortable strength of 232 MLAs in the 288-member House, with the opposition MVA far behind at 48.
According to the Election Commission, the number of Rajya Sabha seats for which elections will be held are spread across Maharashtra (7), Odisha (4), Telangana (2), Tamil Nadu (6), Chhattisgarh (2), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Bihar (5).
Along with Pawar, the Rajya Sabha term will also end in April for Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, Fauzia Khan of NCP (SP), Ramdas Athawale of RPI (Athawale), BJP's Bhagwat Karad, Congress' Rajani Patil and NCP's Dhairysheel Patil.
In the Legislative Council, nine members are retiring in May, including Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
When asked about Pawar, Thackeray said, "There have been no official discussions on it so far. It is the turn of the Sena (UBT) this time, be it the Vidhan Parishad (council) or the Rajya Sabha, according to the numbers and the rotation," Thackeray said.
Talking to reporters separately, Raut said discussions among the MVA partners will focus not only on the Rajya Sabha polls but also on the Legislative Council elections.
"This will not stretch like Chandrapur. Discussions are on," Raut said in a dig at the Congress.
He was referring to the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation's mayoral polls in which the Congress lost to the BJP with the support of the Sena (UBT). Earlier, Raut had attributed the loss to the "infighting" within the Congress.
"There is just one (Rajya Sabha) seat, and there are three major parties in the MVA. Representatives, including Sharad Pawar, are retiring from these three parties. So, leaders of the three parties need to sit together and take a decision on the Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls," he said.
Raut said Pawar had expressed his desire to contest the polls to the Upper House of Parliament. Now, MVA will hold discussions on it, he added.
Pointing to the current strength of the state assembly, Thackeray suggested that the arithmetic favors his party over its MVA allies, the Congress and the NCP (SP). In the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, the Sena (UBT) has 20 legislators, followed by the Congress (16) and NCP-SP (10).
"If you look at the figures, the (Rajya Sabha) seat belongs to the Sena (UBT), and talks will definitely happen in that direction within the MVA," Thackeray said.
The Election Commission is scheduled to officially announce the polls for seven Rajya Sabha seats, scheduled for March 16, on February 26. Among the prominent leaders whose terms are expiring is NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Pawar has already signaled his intention to seek re-election, according to Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by MLAs, and given the massive strength of the Mahayuti, they are likely to win six out of the seven seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming polls. This leaves the entire opposition (MVA) with just one winnable seat, which could trigger tensions among its partners.
The BJP-led Mahayuti has a comfortable strength of 232 MLAs in the 288-member House, with the opposition MVA far behind at 48.
According to the Election Commission, the number of Rajya Sabha seats for which elections will be held are spread across Maharashtra (7), Odisha (4), Telangana (2), Tamil Nadu (6), Chhattisgarh (2), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Bihar (5).
Along with Pawar, the Rajya Sabha term will also end in April for Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, Fauzia Khan of NCP (SP), Ramdas Athawale of RPI (Athawale), BJP's Bhagwat Karad, Congress' Rajani Patil and NCP's Dhairysheel Patil.
In the Legislative Council, nine members are retiring in May, including Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
When asked about Pawar, Thackeray said, "There have been no official discussions on it so far. It is the turn of the Sena (UBT) this time, be it the Vidhan Parishad (council) or the Rajya Sabha, according to the numbers and the rotation," Thackeray said.
Talking to reporters separately, Raut said discussions among the MVA partners will focus not only on the Rajya Sabha polls but also on the Legislative Council elections.
"This will not stretch like Chandrapur. Discussions are on," Raut said in a dig at the Congress.
He was referring to the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation's mayoral polls in which the Congress lost to the BJP with the support of the Sena (UBT). Earlier, Raut had attributed the loss to the "infighting" within the Congress.
"There is just one (Rajya Sabha) seat, and there are three major parties in the MVA. Representatives, including Sharad Pawar, are retiring from these three parties. So, leaders of the three parties need to sit together and take a decision on the Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls," he said.
Raut said Pawar had expressed his desire to contest the polls to the Upper House of Parliament. Now, MVA will hold discussions on it, he added.