Raut says Sena (UBT) lacked numbers to field Priyanka Chaturvedi for Rajya Sabha

Senior leader of the Shiv Sena UBT Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the party was unable to field Priyanka Chaturvedi for reelection to the Rajya Sabha due to unfavourable political arithmetic and the candidature of Sharad Pawar reported news agency PTIRaut explained that although there was strong support within the party for Chaturvedi to return to the Upper House of Parliament the Shiv Sena UBT did not have the required numbers in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly to successfully contest the seatPolitical arithmetic worked against Sena UBTSpeaking to reporters Raut said the party leadership was keen to give Chaturvedi another opportunity in the Rajya Sabha but was constrained by the numbers needed to secure a victoryldquoThere was a wish in the party that Priyanka Chaturvedi should return to the Rajya Sabha but the required numbers were not there With a senior leader like Pawar saheb in the fray we had to take this decisionrdquo he said reported PTIRaut added that the political calculations changed significantly after Pawarrsquos candidature emerged making it difficult for the Shiv Sena UBT to pursue the seatHe noted that if the situation had been different the party would have certainly contested the election and backed ChaturvedildquoHad the political arithmetic worked out and Pawar did not contest then the Sena UBT would have 100 per cent fought the seat and given Chaturvedi another opportunityrdquo Raut said reported PTICongress backs Sharad Pawar as MVA candidateSeven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are set to fall vacant next month prompting intense political negotiations among partiesOn Wednesday the Indian National Congress announced its support for Pawar as the opposition candidate from the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the lone seat expected to be won by the allianceThe announcement ended days of speculation over which leader would be fielded by the alliance as all three partners mdash Congress the Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar faction and the Shiv Sena UBT mdash had staked claim to the seatBJP fields four candidates for Rajya Sabha pollsMeanwhile the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded four candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections from MaharashtraThe partyrsquos nominees include its national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Union minister Ramdas Athawale among othersRaut said Athawalersquos renomination was largely expected given his existing presence in the Rajya Sabha and his alliance with the ruling coalition reported PTIHowever he described Tawdersquos candidature as noteworthy pointing out that the BJP leader had worked extensively to strengthen the party organisation in recent yearsTawdersquos nomination seen as reward for organisational workAccording to Raut Tawdersquos nomination could be viewed as recognition of his efforts in building the partyrsquos organisational network after he was denied a ticket to contest the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections reported PTIldquoHe has worked for strengthening the organisation during that period His nomination to the Rajya Sabha appears to be a reward for those effortsrdquo Raut said reported PTIMahayuti alliance holds numerical advantageIn the 288member Maharashtra Assembly the ruling Mahayuti alliance mdash comprising the BJP the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena mdash commands more than 230 MLAsGiven this strength the alliance is wellpositioned to secure the election of all its nominees while the NCP and Shiv Sena factions are expected to nominate one candidate eachThe Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra whose sixyear terms are ending in April include Sharad Pawar Ramdas Athawale Fauzia Khan Rajni Patil Priyanka Chaturvedi and BJP MPs Dhananjay Mahadik and Bhagwat KaradPolling for the Rajya Sabha elections will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm with counting scheduled to begin at 5 pm on the same dayBased on the current strength in the assembly the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi is likely to secure only one seat while the Mahayuti alliance could win six out of the seven seats unless crossvoting or strategic vote transfers under the preferential voting system alter the outcomeWith inputs from PTI