Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala announced that the Congress will support NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar as the consensus candidate for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s sole winnable Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra.This comes as negotiations intensify ahead of nominations for the polls set to occur on March 16, where seven seats from the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are up for grabs.The ruling Mahayuti alliance—BJP, Shinde Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar NCP—with about 232 MLAs can win six Rajya Sabha seats without a contest.Opposition MVA (Shiv Sena-UBT: 20 MLAs, Congress: 16, NCP-SP: 10; total 46-47) eyes the remaining seat but needs at least 37 first-preference votes from the 288-member Assembly to secure it.Pawar, whose current term ends next month, recently expressed interest in contesting again despite recent hospitalisation, prompting NCP (SP) leaders like Jayant Patil and Supriya Sule to meet Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for discussions.Chennithala’s statement resolves earlier tensions, as Congress leaders, citing their 16 MLAs as the second-largest MVA block, had demanded the alliance’s lone winnable Rajya Sabha seat for itself—arguing it followed rotation norms and was vital for the INDIA bloc nationally.State Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal had suggested a trade-off, like MVA support for Thackeray’s Legislative Council re-election, but Pawar’s push and Chennithala’s endorsement signal unity to avoid a contested poll that could jeopardise the seat.
