Political / Shiv Sena nominates Priyanka Chaturvedi for Rajya Sabha polls

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Thursday, 12 March, nominated its deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi as the party's candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra, a party leader said.

Chaturvedi had quit the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena in April 2019 as she was upset with Congress's decision to reinstate the party workers, who had allegedly misbehaved with her.

She was made the deputy leader of the Sena.

“Chaturvedi is the party’s nominee for the Rajya Sabha election,” a Shiv Sena leader confirmed. She will file her nomination on Friday.

‘Sena Doesn’t Need Old Colleagues Now’: Chandrakant Khaire

This Shiv Sena's move has apparently left party veteran and former Aurangabad MP Chandrakant Khaire sulking.

After Chaturvedi's candidature was announced, Khaire took aim at the party leadership saying that the Shiv Sena of Aaditya Thackeray perhaps does not need old guards like him.

He also needled the Sena leadership saying that as Chaturvedi speaks good English and Hindi, she will be able to project the issues in Parliament in a better way.

Talking to reporters here, Khaire said, “The Shiv Sena of Aditya Thackerey may not need old colleagues now. Chaturvedi has command over English and Hindi languages. She will speak good English and Hindi in the House. She will be able to project the issues more effectively there.”

The Sena leader said that he had worked as an MP for two decades. “My candidature for the Rajya Sabha was the demand of the Marathwada region and the party would have got more power in this region had I got the candidature," said Khaire, a four-time MP, who had lost to AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel from Aurangabad in the last year's Lok Sabha elections.

“I have been a Shiv sainik since the beginning and have worked with party founder Bal Thackeray and president Uddhav Thackeray. I will continue to work for the party till my last breath,” Khaire added.

Election for the seven Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra will be held on 26 March.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar had filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election on Wednesday.

Besides Pawar's, the Rajya Sabha terms of Union minister Ramdas Athawale, Congress' Hussain Dalwai, Sena's Rajkumar Dhoot, BJP's Amar Sable, BJP-backed Independent Sanjay Kakade and NCP's Majeed Memon will end on 2 April.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Gujarat Rajeev Satav is likely to be Congress's candidate for the Rajya Sabha election from Maharashtra.

Ruling alliance members Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP can comfortably win a seat each, as a single candidate needs 37 votes.