Sharad Pawar to Represent Opposition in Maharashtra's Lone Rajya Sabha Seat

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar will represent the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, with the Congress declaring support for him in the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls.

Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said his party had decided to extend support to Pawar after a call from the high command and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, as reported by ANI news agency.

This decision comes after initial disagreement between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance constituents regarding the lone winnable Rajya Sabha seat for the Opposition in Maharashtra. Earlier, all three parties – NCP(SP), Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) – had staked a claim to the seat. The Congress had cited their national party status, while Sena (UBT) had said it has the “first right” owing to the number of MLAs it has in the Maharashtra Assembly.

Congress's Wadettiwar said his party had earlier claimed the seat owing to its “national party” status. “There was a strong demand for it,” the Congress leader said, adding that they had been contacted by several leaders from the NCP Sharad Pawar faction, who also reached out to Uddhav Thackeray.

“Among them, Sharad Pawar is the senior-most... We are abiding by the ethics of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Our high command has decided to support Pawar Saheb,” ANI cited Wadettiwar as saying.

Wadettiwar and Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal had, last month, staked claim to the seat, asserting that a united decision was needed to effectively challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, too, had spoken in favor of their party getting the seat. “The Shiv Sena (UBT) is the single largest party in the opposition with 20 MLAs. The Congress has 16, and the NCP (SP) has 10,” Raut had said. However, all MVA parties had reiterated that the decision would be made through dialogue. “The candidate will be finalised only with the consent of all three parties,” Wadettiwar said.

The decision to support Sharad Pawar is seen as a strategic move to maintain unity within the MVA alliance and to present a strong opposition to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This move is expected to strengthen the Opposition's stance in the Rajya Sabha, where every seat counts in legislative matters and policy debates.