Seven Rajya Sabha candidates from Maharashtra set to be elected unopposed

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are set to be elected unopposed, as exactly seven candidates filed their nominations for the vacancies before the deadline.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated senior leader Vinod Tawde, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Maya Iravate, and Ramrao Wadkute. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has fielded Jyoti Waghmare, while the Nationalist Congress Party has nominated Parth Pawar. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has put forward veteran leader Sharad Pawar.

Rajya Sabha Elections: Seven members from Maharashtra set to retire this year

This year, seven members from Maharashtra - Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale, Fauzia Khan, Rajni Patil, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and BJP leaders Dhananjay Patil and Bhagwat Karad - are retiring from the Upper House.

The last date for filing nominations was Thursday, March 5, and scrutiny of the papers is scheduled for Friday, March 6. Had the number of candidates exceeded the number of seats, voting would have been held on March 16. However, with only seven candidates in the fray for seven seats, the election will be uncontested.