Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Feb 22: A fresh round of political sparring has emerged within the opposition alliance in Maharashtra after leaders of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (UBT) asserted their party’s primary claim over the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) lone winnable Rajya Sabha seat from the state.

Days after MLA Aaditya Thackeray said the seat “belongs” to his party based on its strength in the state Assembly, party MP Sanjay Raut reiterated that as the largest constituent of the MVA, Sena (UBT) has the “first right” to contest it.

Raut noted that he had earlier stated that Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), had expressed a desire to contest the election. However, he added that the political situation has since evolved and any decision would be taken collectively within the alliance. “He is a senior leader of MVA. We will sit together and make a collective decision. But it must first be accepted that as the largest party, Sena (UBT) has the primary claim,” Raut said, clarifying that Pawar has not formally announced his candidature.

The terms of seven Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra, including Pawar’s, are set to end on April 2, with elections scheduled for March 16.

Based on current legislative strength, the Bharatiya Janata Party is positioned to secure four seats, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP are likely to win one seat each. The MVA, if voting cohesively, has the numbers to elect only one candidate, setting the stage for negotiations among its constituent parties over the coveted berth.