Opposition parties granted Congress leader Rajani Patil a comfortable victory in the Rajya Sabha bypoll by not fielding any candidate on the last day of nomination on Wednesday.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who was instrumental in getting Patil nominated, appealed to the Opposition leaders to allow her safe passage because her victory was certain even if the election was to be held on January 12.

Chavan said that he hoped that Patil would strengthen the party in the state and take up issues, especially women-related, in Rajya Sabha.

The election office will declare Patil’s victory according to the poll schedule later this week. The election was necessitated owing to the death of former union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in August 2012.