Sharad Pawar breaks silence, dials BVA chief Hitendra Thakur

Mumbai: Last-minute adjustments and allurements were discussed by political parties on Thursday on the eve of elections to six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar raised hackles by placing a phone call to Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) chief Hitendra Thakur. Sixteen small parties and 13 independent MLAs stand to be the deciding factor in polls to the Upper House of Parliament slated for today.

A senior political leader told First India, “Initially, Pawar had said that he would transfer the 11 additional NCP MLA votes to Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, when he first announced plans to contest as an independent. Then he recalibrated and said committed the votes to the second Rajya Sabha candidate nominated by Shiv Sena. He had maintained a quiet stance thereafter, even through the thick of the raging controversy that ensued with Sambhajiraje declining Sena’s offer to join them.”

“With the 11 extra NCP MLA votes committed to Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Pawar, the NCP chief called up Thakur to ensure that his party’s first preference --RS candidate Praful Patel--secures the BVA’s three MLA votes apart from the 42 committed NCP votes already in his kitty. Patel is keen to secure at least 47 first preference votes,” added the leader.

On Thursday, a PMLA court rejected the plea of jailed NCP leaders Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik seeking permission to cast their votes in the RS polls.

Also, with Enforcement Directorate cases pending against Thakur’s son (MLA) Kshitij since 2020, the BJP is trying to leverage three BVA votes for its third RS candidate, Dhananjay Mahadik.

Even the Congress has tightened its grip on its 44 MLAs despite discontent over the nomination of Imran Pratapgarhi. Brewing discontent was dissipated, after former Maharashtra CM, Ashok Chavan, revealed that Pratapgarhi’s name was nominated from Maharashtra at the behest of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

A senior Congress leader told First India, “It will be crucial that all 44 Congress MLAs remain present on Friday for the RS polls from the state. Even if one or two abstain for some reason, the Congress nominee’s prospects may come into jeopardy. Serious efforts are being made to pre-empt any such outcome.”