Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) The political landscape of Maharashtra is gearing up for another high-stakes battle as the Election Commission announced a Rajya Sabha bye-election for June 18. The vacancy was created following the resignation of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Sunetra Pawar from the Upper House of Parliament. Sunetra Pawar recently tendered her resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President, C.P. Radhakrishnan.

She decided to vacate the parliamentary seat follows her historic, landslide victory in the Baramati Assembly bypoll, where she registered a record-breaking winning margin of over 2,18,000 votes.

Having committed to a full-focus entry into state politics and assuming her role in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, her transition has now triggered a complex intra-party and intra-alliance chess match for the newly-vacant Delhi seat.

Sunetra Pawar’s exit from the Rajya Sabha has set off a major internal scramble within the NCP. With the seat technically belonging to the NCP quota within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, senior party leaders are actively lobbying for a ticket.

Some of the key aspirants include veteran party leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Bhujbal’s camp often points to his vast legislative experience as a strong asset for representing the state at the national level. He is also a founder of the Samata Parishad working for the issues relating to welfare and reservation.

Party insiders said that Bhujbal has told the party president that his nephew Sameer Bhujbal should be inducted in the state Cabinet after he resigns and goes to the Upper House. Subsequently, Sameer Bhujbal will later be elected to the state Assembly from Yevala constituency from Nashik district. However, the party has yet to consider Bhujbal’s proposal.

There is also speculation surrounding the Ajit Pawar family’s next generation, even as younger son Jay Pawar clarified locally in Baramati that he remains focussed on ground-level work in Maharashtra.

Another name doing the rounds is party general secretary Avinash Adik who is the son of veteran leader Govindrao Adik from the politically-vibrant Ahilyanagar district.

Party insiders reveal that the ultimate decision will lie heavily on the discretion of Sunetra Pawar.

The NCP core committee headed by Sunetra Pawar is expected to meet next week and decide its nominee for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypoll.

The bye-election arithmetic heavily favours the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which currently commands a comfortable majority in the state Assembly. However, the upcoming bypoll is not happening in a vacuum. It coincides with a highly active political season in Maharashtra, overlapping with strategic seat-sharing negotiations for 17 Legislative Council (MLC) seats.

While the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and the NCP negotiate a broader formula across local authorities’ seats, the Rajya Sabha ticket remains a prestigious chip on the table. Incidentally, the polling for 17 state council seats is also slated for June 18.

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP) — chose not to field a candidate against Sunetra Pawar in the Baramati Assembly poll as a sign of political courtesy.

Whether they show the same restraint for this Rajya Sabha seat or force a contest remains the definitive question leading up to the June 18 vote.

As the deadline for nominations approaches, Delhi and Mumbai will witness intense closed-door huddles. For the NCP, the challenge is maintaining internal party harmony; for the Mahayuti alliance, it is ensuring absolute coordination to seamlessly send their next representative to the Parliament.

–IANS

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