Will the Ajit Pawar-led NCP get one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra that have fallen vacant after the Lok Sabha elections?
The Election Commission, on Wednesday, announced that a byelection to two Rajya Sabha will be held on September 3.
The seats fell vacant after Piyush Goyal and Udayan Raje Bhosle were elected to Lok Sabha in the recent elections from Mumbai North and Satara Lok Sabha seats respectively.
Both Goyal and Bhosle were members of Rajya Sabha and their terms were to end in 2026 and 2028 respectively. The BJP fielded them as Lok Sabha candidates and both won defeating their Congress and NCP (SP) rivals respectively.
The BJP had promised one of the two seats to Ajit Pawar-led NCP as he gave up his party's claim on Satara seat so that Bhosle could contest on the BJP ticket.
While campaigning for Bhosle, Ajit Pawar had declared that he would send Nitin Patil, brother of Ajit Pawar supporter legislator Makrand Patil, to Rajya Sabha.
A BJP state functionary said it had been decided at the time of Lok sabha elections that one seat, mostly Satara, will be given to NCP Ajit Pawar group.
A close aide of Ajit Pawar informed this reporter that his party is firm on getting one of the two seats. This is what has been decided.
Efforts to reach NCP Ajit Pawar state president Sunil Tatkare and BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bavankule did not succeed as Tatkare did not answer the call while Bavankule's assistant informed that the BJP leader was unwell and could not speak.
