Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Sunday said the Congress has staked its claim to a Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra as part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), stressing that a united decision was needed to effectively challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In April, the Rajya Sabha terms of several MPs from Maharashtra will come to an end, including Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, NCP (SP) MP Fauzia Khan, RPI (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale, BJP’s Bhagwat Karad, Congress MP Rajani Patil, and NCP’s Dhairysheel Patil.
Sapkal said the Rajya Sabha seat issue should be resolved through discussion within the alliance, not through public statements. “Earlier, we contested Rajya Sabha elections as alliance partners. At that time, the NCP had more numbers. Leaders like Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi came together to ensure candidates were elected. Now, four of our members are completing their terms. As Congress in the MVA, we are demanding that the Rajya Sabha seat be given to us,” Sapkal said.
“There needs to be a broad discussion. So far, no discussion has taken place within the MVA on the Rajya Sabha seat. Once talks happen, a solution will emerge,” he said, underlining the need for unity within the opposition bloc.
{{/usCountry}}“There needs to be a broad discussion. So far, no discussion has taken place within the MVA on the Rajya Sabha seat. Once talks happen, a solution will emerge,” he said, underlining the need for unity within the opposition bloc.
{{/usCountry}}The comments come amid growing signals of competition within the MVA over the lone winnable Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra, as the alliance’s strength in the state assembly has declined sharply. The MVA is now in a position to potentially send only one member to the Upper House.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders have said they have the first claim on the MVA’s Rajya Sabha seat as the largest opposition party in the assembly. Earlier on Saturday, Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray had indicated that, based on current numbers, the seat “belongs” to his party, while adding that discussions would take place within the alliance.
Backing this view, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said on Sunday that there was no inconsistency in the party’s stand. “The Shiv Sena (UBT) is the single largest party in the opposition with 20 MLAs. The Congress has 16, and the NCP (SP) has 10. Whoever gets elected will go as a candidate of the MVA, but as the largest party, Shiv Sena (UBT) has the first right,” Raut said.
(With Agency Inputs)