The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The list includes former Congress leader Ashok Chavan, Medha Kulkarni, and Dr. Ajit Gopchhade. Notably, Pankaja Munde, whose name was doing the rounds for a ticket, has been omitted this time.

 

 

 

Ashok Chavan, a senior former Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, joined the BJP on February 13. He has been fielded for the Rajya Sabha elections just a day after his entry into the party. Chavan had resigned from his Assembly membership to join the BJP.

 

 

Medha Kulkarni, a former MLA from Kothrud, was denied a ticket for the 2019 Assembly elections. She was reportedly upset with the party's decision and had even expressed her displeasure to the central leadership. By fielding her for the Rajya Sabha, the BJP seems to be rehabilitating her.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ajit Gopchhade is the President of the BJP Medical Cell Maharashtra. He has been working in the BJP organization for many years. With a background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Gopchhade started his political career through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during his student days. He is known as a loyal leader of the BJP.

 

 

There are six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra. Based on the strength of MLAs in the Assembly, the BJP can easily win three seats, while the Congress, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) can each win one seat.

 

The Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP are unlikely to win any seats due to the split in the parties.

 

To win in the Rajya Sabha elections this year, 41.01 first-preference votes will be required. With the death of BJP's Govardhan Sharma, one seat in the Assembly is vacant. Although the BJP has 104 MLAs, it can easily win three seats with the support of 13 independents and other small parties.

 

With 45 MLAs, the Congress can also easily win one seat. After the split in Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde has the support of 40 MLAs and 10 independents and small parties. Based on this strength, the Shinde faction will win one seat.

 

The Ajit Pawar faction claims the support of 43 out of 53 NCP MLAs. Based on this strength, the Ajit Pawar faction can easily win one seat.

 

The Uddhav Thackeray faction has 15 MLAs, while the Sharad Pawar faction has 10 MLAs. Even if the two parties come together and field a joint candidate, it seems difficult to reach the magic number of 41 at present. Due to this, the Sharad Pawar faction and the Uddhav Thackeray faction are likely to lose their respective seats in the Rajya Sabha.