Maharashtra: BJP announces candidates for 4 of 7 Rajya Sabha seats

The BJP on Wednesday announced four candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Maharashtra, including Union minister Ramdas Athawale and former state minister Vinod Tawde. Besides Athawale and Tawde, the party has also fielded Nagpur ex-mayor Maya Chintaman Ivnate and former member of the legislative council (MLC) Ramrao Wadkute for the biennial elections.
The Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra retiring this year include NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Athawale, who heads RPI (A), Fauzia Khan of NCP (SP), Rajni Patil (Congress), Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT), and BJP leaders Dhananjay Patil and Bhagwat Karad.

भारतीय जनता पार्टी की केंद्रीय चुनाव समिति ने महाराष्ट्र प्रदेश में होने वाले राज्यसभा के द्विवार्षिक चुनाव हेतु निम्नलिखित नामों पर अपनी स्वीकृति प्रदान की है। pic.twitter.com/c8SGx3jQg2

— BJP (@BJP4India) March 4, 2026

Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are set to fall vacant in April. With over 230 MLAs in the 288-member assembly, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is in a position to ensure the election of all its four nominees.With the demise of MLAs Ajit Pawar and Shivajirao Kardile, the effective strength of the Maharashtra assembly has come down to 286 for the purpose of calculating the quota. A candidate needs 37 votes to be elected. According to the present composition of the assembly, the BJP has 131 MLAs after accounting for one vacancy, while Deputy Chief Minister  Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has 57 members. The NCP, led by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, has 40 MLAs after one vacancy.The MVA's combined tally translates into the assured election of one candidate. By this arithmetic, the Mahayuti alliance can win up to six of the seven seats, subject to cross-voting or strategic transfers under the preferential voting system.
From the opposition camp, the Congress has 16 MLAs, the NCP (SP) has 10, and the Sena (UBT) has 20. Among smaller parties and others, the Samajwadi Party has two MLAs, Jansurajya Shakti has two, Rashtriya Yuva Swabhiman Party (1), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (1), AIMIM (1), CPI-M (1), the Peasants and Workers Party of India (1), Rajarshi Shahu Vikas Aghadi (1), and there are two Independents.